Summer Fling
by Kalliope91
Summary: Translation of my story "Die Sommeraffäre". James Potter and Scorpius Malfoy can't stand each other but one summer and a botched potion change everything. Warning: slash, mpreg;
1. Chapter 1

Summer Fling

**Chapter 1**

It was the 16th of August, a sunny day during the summer holidays and Albus Potter's fifteenth birthday. At the Potters everything was going haywire. Ginny Potter was busy preparing the garden party that would start in a few hours. While she was baking the birthday cake she tried to get James and Lily to help with the cleaning and decorating. She groaned in annoyance when they made a bolt for it.

James grabbed his broom and took off high into the air to escape his mother and get away from it all. He was in a bad mood and not up to celebrating. _It's bad enough Albus ended up in Slytherin, but does he have to invite his Slytherin friends over during summer hols?_ the sixteen year old Gryffindor thought.

Yes, James wasn't happy at all to have to share his home with some Slytherins. The rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin was still very much in existence and putting them in close proximity of each other was still not a good idea. But the worst thing was Albus' best friend – Scorpius Malfoy, who would stay with them for the last two weeks of the holidays.

James flew until the first guests arrived, ignoring the angry shouts of his mother. He knew he would have to pay for it later but thought it was worth it. When he flew he could forget about the horrible two weeks lying in front of him.

The first guests to arrive were Teddy Lupin and his wife Victoire. They had married a year ago and were now expecting their first child. Victoire wasn't showing yet though because she was only three months along. Forgetting about his bad mood for the moment James landed and ran over to greet the man who was a big brother to him.

"Teddy! What's up?" James asked and grinned at his big brother in all but blood.

"Hey, How's it going, Jamie?" Teddy replied and ruffled James' hair.

James glared at him. He hated it when people called him Jamie and ruffled his hair even though he often did it himself. He wasn't a child anymore!

Teddy only laughed and looked around.

"Where is your brother, the birthday boy?" he asked.

"Probably in his room" James grumbled.

"Then please go tell him to come down" Ginny ordered him and her tone indicated he better follow her order or else.

Still grumbling James followed his mother's order. Slowly he walked up the stairs to the first floor and to Albus door. He knocked and entered without waiting for an answer. The Gryffindor found his brother sitting on his bed, reading. Albus looked up when James walked in.

"Teddy and Victoire are here. Mum says to come down, the others will be here soon" James relayed and went back down.

Albus and James had never been particularly close even though they were close in age. It had become only worse after Albus had been sorted into Slytherin. Sometimes Albus regretted not being as close to him as he was to Teddy and Lily. Teddy was only their father's godson but he was their brother in all but blood.

When Albus came down two more people had arrived, his grandparents Molly and Arthur. Molly as always had brought a lot of food although Ginny had assured her she would take care of it. Instantly Albus was pulled into a hug by his Grandmother who nearly squeezed him to death.

"Happy Birthday my little darling" she said, still holding him in a tight embrace. He was glad when she finally let go of him so Arthur could congratulate him, too. His Grandfather hugged him, as well but it was only a short hug that didn't deprive him of air to breathe for which he was thankful.

"All the best, Al" he said. Then he took Molly's arm and led her out to the garden where everything was prepared for the party so she wouldn't try to chase Ginny out of her own kitchen. Since it was a nice sunny summer day it was best to celebrate outside.

One by one the rest of the Weasley family arrived as well. It was a big family and soon a lot of redheads were running around the garden with only the occasional fair or dark hair in between. Among them were Neville Longbottom and Luna Scamander with their families. They were still good friends with Harry and Ginny and were Lily's godparents.

Of course Albus had invited his two best friends as well. Scorpius Malfoy and his cousin Lucas Zabini were the reason for James Potter's bad mood. James couldn't stand his brother's two best friends and had gotten into fights with them at Hogwarts a few times. Especially Malfoy got on his nerves with his arrogant, proud attitude. Although in his opinion he didn't have anything to be proud of. _Well, maybe his good looks._

Quickly he went over to Fred and Roxanne, his best friends and Gryffindor sixth years like him. The Marauders were their role models and together with the Marauder's Map, his father gave him for his twelfth birthday, they pulled a lot of pranks on Hogwarts inhabitants. Sometimes he wished he had the invisibility cloak as well but Albus had got it on his twelfth birthday.

James, Fred and Roxanne hid in the old tree house that was barely used anymore to plan new pranks for the coming school year and to avoid the Slytherins. If James started a fight today his parents would ground him for the rest of the holidays.

"I can't believe I have to put up with Malfoy for the next two weeks. School hasn't even started yet and now he has to ruin my holidays, too" James complained when they had finished planning.

"Bad luck, mate" Fred commented.

"Why don't you come over to ours for the next two weeks? I'm sure Mum and Dad won't mind" Roxanne suggested.

"Good idea, Roxy. Then we would have more time to plan our pranks, too" Fred agreed instantly.

"You are right, that would be great. Come on, I want to ask Mum" James called already on the ladder.

Fred and Roxanne followed him quickly. James found Ginny sitting on a table together with Luna, Angelina, Hermione, Fleur and Victiore.

"Hey Mum, can I stay with Fred and Roxy for the rest of the holidays? You know Malfoy and I don't get along" he tried to convince his mother.

"No. You will stay here and try to get along with Scorpius" Ginny decided.

"But Mum!" James started.

"Why not, Ginny? George and I wouldn't mind having James over" Angelina chipped in.

"Normally I wouldn't mind but James still has to be punished for shirking his chores today, instead flying around for hours" Ginny explained.

"What?! I'm grounded for two weeks just because I didn't help you today?" James asked incredulous.

"You aren't grounded. Fred and Roxy are welcome to visit for a few days. You can even go visit them for a day or two, but not the rest of the holidays. Understood?" Ginny said.

"Yes, Mum" James replied crestfallen.

"Too bad, you're stuck with Malfoy after all" Fred said while they walked back to their tree house.

All the while Albus, Scorpius, Lucas and Rose were sitting away from the others talking about Quidditch and the new school year.

"Do you know who the new Quiddtich captain is?" Lucas asked.

"Yes, I am" Albus announced. "The badge came together with my Hogwarts letter. James got one, too. He's the new captain of the Gryffindor team."

"Really? Cool! It will be fun seeing you play against your brother" Lucas laughed.

"Congratulations, Al" Rose said. "I'm one of the prefects by the way" she told them proudly.

"Me too" Scorpius remarked.

Congratulations you two but that's really no surprise" Lucas commented.

"How about we play a round of Qudditch? I'm sure we can convince a few of the others to join us" Albus suggested.

"Ok, we need enough players for two teams, so ten more people. Who should we ask?" Rose inquired.

"I will ask James, Fred and Roxy. Rose, you ask Lily, Lorcan, Lysander and Hugo. And Scor and Luc you can ask Dominique, Louis and Teddy" Albus decided.

It didn't take long until everyone had gathered and they were organising into teams.

"Who will be the team captains?" Louis asked.

"Albus! It's his birthday" Lily called out.

"And James! He needs to practice" Fred shouted.

"Alright Albus and James, choose your teams" Rose said.

"Scorpius!" Albus chose first.

"Fred!" James decided.

"Lucas!" Albus called out.

"Roxy!" James said.

"Rose!"

Louis!"

"Teddy!" Albus chose and earned an angry glare from James.

"Dominique!"

"Lily!" Again James glared at Albus.

"Hugo!"

"Lysander!"

"Lorcan!"

With that the teams were complete and they only needed to appoint positions.

"I will play seeker, Luc, Scor and Lily are our chasers, Lysander and Teddy play as beaters and Rose will be our keeper" Albus decided.

"Louis, Dom and I play chasers, Fred and Roxy are beaters, Hugo is our keeper and Lorcan as seeker" James ruled.

Then the game began. It was only a game between family and friends but they fought as hard as if they were playing for the Hogwarts Quidditch cup. The chasers chased each other over the field with daring moves, especially James and Scorpius clashed often. The beaters sent the bludgers into the middle of the fight and the keepers were quite busy guarding their goalposts. The only ones not in the thick of it were the seekers, Albus and Lorcan. They flew high above the others watching out for the snitch.

_Damn Malfoy. Why do I have to put up with him even during Quidditch? Why does he have to play chaser like me, of all the positions available? _James thought annoyed as Scorpius snatched the Quaffle away from him again.

Of course he instantly chased after him and with some daring moves managed to get the Quaffle back before Scorpius could score a goal. Some form of contact was unavoidable in the process and it disturbed James slightly that he noticed Malfoy's build and muscles in a way that had him all hot and bothered.

As soon as Albus had caught the snitch, James stormed into the house and into his room to calm down and think about his new reaction to Malfoy. He despised Malfoy, he was sure of it. _Then why do I think about his good looks? _he wondered.

_Just because I can admit he is handsome doesn't mean I fancy him! _James argued with himself. Groaning he burrowed his head in his pillow. He couldn't fool himself.

_Alright, so I fancy Malfoy. He is still an arrogant prick. A good looking one but still an arrogant prick, _James decided satisfied. He could live with that. Relieved he went back to the garden.

There everyone was now eating cake and Albus was unwrapping his presents. From his parents he got a new broom – a reward for becoming Slytherin's Quidditch captain – while Lily and James gave him a new broom servicing kit and new Quidditch gloves. Scorpius and Lucas got him a lot of sweats from Honeydukes and a yearlong subscription for a Quidditch magazine. From George, Angelina, Fred and Roxanne he got as always the newest inventions of WWW. He also got new dress robes from Bill and Fleur, a book – 'Quidditch captains of Hogwarts and their career' – from Percy and his wife Audrey, some detective and adventure storys from Ron and Hermione and more.

James watched Albus unwrapping his presents, while he sat down beside Fred and Roxanne.

"Hey, where did you go so fast earlier?" Roxanne asked him.

"Nowhere, I just needed to use the loo" James lied.

Fred and Roxanne were pretty sure that it was a lie but dropped the subject. They sat together on one of the tables, enjoyed their cake and watched Albus unwrapping his presents.

A few hours later everyone had gone home – apart from Scorpius of course – and James finally had some time to mull over his realization this afternoon. He locked himself into his room so no one could disturb him, especially that damn Malfoy.

Again he threw himself onto the bed and burrowed his head into the pillow. It always helped him think for some reason.

_Do I really fancy Malfoy? He is good looking for sure but he is still an idiot. Good, at least that hasn't changed. Then I would really need worry about my sanity. But what do I do now? _James wondered.

_Nothing_, was the simple answer. _If I ignore it long enough it will go away on its own. It's just a slight attraction. When we get to Hogwarts I will find myself a boyfriend and forget all about him in a heartbeat_, James thought.

He wasn't worried about being attracted to a boy. He already figured out he was gay two years ago. Satisfied with the result of his musings he fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Summer Fling

**Chapter 2**

Scorpius was glad to be able to spend the rest of the summer holidays with Albus. At home he was often bored because his parents didn't have much time for him. Besides, he liked the smaller cottage the Potters lived in better than the huge manor he lived in with his parents. Potter Cottage was much cosier,homely.

Although the cottage of the Potters was small in comparison to the manor of the Malfoys it was big enough for every child to have his own room plus one guestroom. Scorpius could have slept in the guestroom but he preferred to sleep in Albus' room.

Albus birthday party was over, so Albus and Scorpius disappeared into Albus' room. Scorpius sometimes envied Albus because of his big family you could have so much fun with. Like that day playing Quidditch. _Father would shudder to even think of all the Weasleys_, Scorpius thought amused.

Tired they both went to bed and after talking a bit about Albus' birthday, presents and Quidditch they fell asleep.

When Scorpius awoke the next day it was late morning and Albus was already up. Still half asleep he padded over to the bathroom but before he could reach the door it opened and out stepped James Potter, only clad in a towel around his hips.

Scorpius pale cheeks reddened and he quickly looked away. _What by Merlin's beard is wrong with me? He's not the first boy I've seen half naked, after all I only need to look into a mirror for that_, he thought confused.

"Malfoy" James growled as he walked by.

"Morning" Scorpius mumbled still embarrassed and quickly disappeared into the bathroom.

There he sat down on the rim of the bathtub and tried to calm down with no success. _Oh Merlin, he will never let me live this down! Why did I even blush? Maybe he didn't notice. _The thoughts were running rampant around Scorpius head.

_Of course he noticed. And you blushed because you thought he looked hot_, a voice in his head whispered.

_No, no, no I don't fancy boys and especially not that self-righteous prick. I'm not gay!_

Determined Scorpius shook his head and decided to forget the incident as much as possible. Qickly he washed and dressed himself. Then he went down to the kitchen looking for Albus and something to eat. In the kitchen he not only found Albus but also Ginny and – of course – James.

"Good morning" he greeted them politely as he came into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Scorpius" Ginny replied kindly.

"Morning" Albus said between two bites of scrambled eggs.

James too was eating scrambled eggs with bacon and only gave him a short nod. Then he went on ignoring him. That suited Scorpius just fine. At least he hadn't made any of his usual stupid remarks or mentioned the earlier incident.

"Take a seat. Do you want scrambled eggs and bacon or rather something else?" Ginny asked.

"May I have some toast and jam please, Mrs. Potter?" Scorpius asked.

"Of course, that's no problem" Ginny said and put a basket of toast and various jams in front of him on the table.

Scorpius helped himself and spread some strawberry jam on his toast. Albus, who had finished his scrambled eggs, helped himself as well and spread some cherry jam onto his toast. James sat next to them in silence while Albus and Scorpius talked during their breakfast but every now and then he would look at Scorpius funny.

When they had finished eating, Albus and Scorpius went back to Albus' room. James had to stay in the kitchen and help his mother cleaning and drying the dishes. Since he wasn't seventeen yet he wasn't allowed to use magic and had to do everything by hand.

The two friends sat in Albus' room on their beds and thought about their plans for the day.

"Do you have an idea?" Albus asked.

"How about a game of chess?" Scorpius suggested.

"Ok" Albus agreed and fetched his chess board.

"Black or white?" he inquired.

"White" Scorpius decided.

Both placed their pieces on the board and started to play. They played the rest of the morning until Ginny called them for lunch.

James meanwhile had spent his time thinking about his encounter with Malfoy that morning. He just couldn't forget the blush on Scorpius' cheeks and his shy behaviour.

_Why did he act so shy and embarrassed? He never acts shy, on the contrary_, James wondered.

_Yes, I only wore a towel but that can't be the reason. As far as I know he isn't even bi let alone gay. Just because I think he's hot doesn't mean he has to think the same about me. But then why did he blush?_

To James it was a mystery, one he was determined to solve. If there was even the slightest chance Scorpius fancied him, he wanted to know. He couldn't miss out on this fun now, could he? No, he didn't want to start something with Malfoy but it would be fun to tease him, embarrass him and make him blush. He would start to test his theory as soon as possible.

After lunch Albus and Scorpius decided to fly around the garden. They couldn't play Quidditch because they were only two people. At the same time James wondered how he could put his plan into action. Finally he decided to sunbath in the garden only clad in his boxers. Of course in plain sight of Malfoy, so he could see his reaction to his – nearly naked – body. That would be the first step. The next step would be to test his reaction to touch.

James lay in the sun to tan while he watched Albus and Scorpius fly. They hadn't noticed him yet and raced each other laughing around the garden. James used the time to watch Scorpius without being noticed.

"Hey James! Do you want to play a game of Quidditch with us?" Albus called when he finally noticed him.

Scorpius was now looking at him as well and like that morning his pale cheeks reddened and he looked away bashfully. This time though he had a pointed remark on the tip of his tongue.

"Hey Potter! Don't you have enough clothes or why are you lying around in your underwear?" he shouted.

"I'm sunbathing, something you obviously never heard of, going by the tone of your skin that has probably never seen any sunlight in your whole life" James replied rolling his eyes.

But inside he was delighted his plan was working. He had made Malfoy blush again. Maybe he really fancied James?

"Are you playing with us now or not?" Albus asked annoyed.

"No, too hot. You could ask Lily" James said and turned away seemingly disinterested.

Albus just shrugged and flew to Lily's window. He knocked on the glass and waited for her to open. Lily agreed immediately and only seconds later came out of the house, broom in hand. She loved Quidditch just as much as her brothers and wanted to get on the Gryffindor team this year.

James watched the three play, it was funny. Albus was a seeker and Lily wanted to try out for the seeker position as well but since they were a few players short they could only play with the Quaffle. Albus played keeper while Lily and Scorpius played against each other as chasers. Lily of course stood no chance against Malfoy who played chaser on the Slytherin Quidditch team and Albus had no talent what so ever as keeper and hardly ever caught the Quaffle.

The three teenagers played while James lounged on the grass in the sun until Ginny called them for dinner. Albus, Scorpius and Lily touched down and went to the house. James followed them. As they walked through the door into the hall, James brushed by Scorpius and accidentally on purpose touched his hand. James grinned pleased as he saw Malfoy blushing again.

_This is easier than I thought. I think I will have a lot of fun with this in the next two weeks. I wonder, what else could I do to make him blush? I just need to be careful so no one else will notice_, James mused.

Yes, James was very happy with his plan to make Malfoy loose his calm. Malfoy really seemed to have a crush on him and he was determined to exploit that without revealing his own feelings.

At dinner he managed to place himself next to Malfoy. Every now and then he let his hands bump against Malfoy's – accidentally of course – their thighs brush and feet touch. Meanwhile he always took care so no one else would see what he was doing. Scorpius blushed every time they touched and the others started to notice.

"Scorpius, are you all right? You aren't getting ill, are you?" Ginny asked worried.

"No, I'm fine Mrs. Potter. I'm just a bit hot" the blonde answered.

"Yes, it was terribly hot today, wasn't it?" Harry agreed completely oblivious.

James had to bite back a laugh. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to spend the next two weeks in the same house as Malfoy after all. Yes, maybe it even would be fun. Again he let his foot brush seemingly accidental against Malfoy's.

"Are you sure you are well?" Ginny asked again, still worried.

"Yes, Mrs. Potter. I was probably just outside for a bit too long. No need to worry" Scorpius replied still blushing brightly.

"Oh dear. I hope you don't have sunstroke. If you start to feel dizzy or sick you will tell me immediately, alright?" Ginny seemed really worried now.

Albus started to give him curious and slightly worried looks as well. He was quite sure Scorpius was lying and his red cheeks had nothing to do with the sun but he couldn't find any other explanation either.

"Yes, Mrs. Potter. But I'm fine, really. Don't worry" Scorpius tried to calm Ginny down.

"I'm sure Scorpius will tell us if something is wrong" Harry interrupted before Ginny could start up again.

Ginny relented but kept an eye on Scorpius. Something was going on but she didn't know what.

Scorpius was relieved when dinner finally ended and he could go back to Albus' room. James actions had unsettled him and he needed to think. Unfortunately Albus wasn't tired yet so he had to act as if nothing unusual had happened for a few more hours. So he played exploding snap with Albus and tried to act normal. He didn't want Albus to find out about his new feelings for his brother. That would be just too awkward.

When Albus eventually fell asleep, Scorpius had finally the opportunity to think about this day. He wondered why James suddenly acted so differently around him and if all those touches were intentional. And if they were, what was his plan? Did James know about Scorpius feelings? Probably. He hadn't done a good job of hiding them now, did he?

But what was he supposed to do now? What was James planning? Did he just want to humiliate him? Then it would be best to ignore him completely. Or was he interested in him? Would he even want James to fancy him? Was he honestly considering James as his lover? Potter was a playboy and left his lovers as quickly as he got together with them. No, there was no way this was a good idea. He would just try to ignore James as best he could.

With this resolution he turned around and fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Summer Fling

**Chapter 3**

"Mum, can we go to Diagon Alley?" Albus asked, sitting at the kitchen table with Scorpius, Lily, James and Ginny during breakfast.

"Why? What do you want to go there for? You already have your school supplies" Ginny wondered.

"I just wanted to buy a few things for the new school year. You know, sweets and books and stuff" Albus said.

"Can I come with you? I want to visit Uncle George, Fred and Roxy at their shop" James interrupted.

"Alright, you can go to Diagon Alley if you want. But you are home at six" Ginny agreed.

"What about me?" Lily asked.

"I'm sorry, Lily but I don't want you running around Diagon Alley alone and your brothers probably don't want to keep an eye on you all the time. You will have to stay here with me" Ginny explained.

"I don't need a baby sitter, I can take care of myself" Lily replied defiantly.

"Still, you are staying with me" Ginny said decisively.

Pouting Lily went to her room. She knew it was no use to argue with her mother, not when she was using that tone. Ginny was scary when she got angry, much like her mother.

So Albus, Scorpius and James went to Diagon Alley after breakfast. They flooed to the Leaky Cauldron and entered the street with various wizarding shops. James instantly separated from Albus and Scorpius and went to Weasley's Wizarding Weezes. Albus and Scorpius on the other hand strolled down the street, now and then entered one of the shops. They bought sweets, a few novels and some books about potions for Albus as well as a few extra potions ingredients.

Albus loved potions and often brewed in his free time – without the knowledge of his parents who would have forbidden it for sure – and not only potions on the curriculum. When he found an interesting recipe in a book and was able to acquire the necessary ingredients he enjoyed trying other potions as well. That was the main reason for their trip to Diagon Alley.

James, who had no idea what his brother got up to in his free time, was sitting in the backroom of Weasley's Wizarding Weezes talking with Fred and Roxanne who were helping their father with his shop during the holidays.

"What's it like to live with Malfoy under the same roof? Haven't killed each other yet?" Fred asked in a joking manner.

"As you can see I'm still alive" James replied grinning.

"You see me amazed. I was sure you would have killed each other by now" Fred said.

"The two weeks aren't over yet. It's only been two days" Roxanne interjected.

"Thanks for your vote of confidence. You don't think I can restrain myself for a few days?" James stated sarcastically.

"James, you've never been able to restrain yourself where Malfoy was concerned. Admit it, you love to provoke him and fight with him" Fred laughed.

"Guilty as charged" James admitted grinning.

"So, what have you been up to in the last two days to drive him mad?" Roxanne asked and rolling her eyes.

James grin grew even wider and the twins exchanged worried looks.

"James?" Roxanne asked hesitantly.

"What did you do?" Fred added with just as much trepidation in his voice.

"It seems as if Malfoy has a tiny little crush on me, at least he's always blushing whenever I set out to make him" James said still grinning widely.

"When you set out to make him?" Roxanne repeated questioningly.

"The first time I noticed him blushing was when I met him the first morning in the hall while I was only wearing a towel. He blushed really hard and then fled past me into the bathroom" James told them.

"Really? I would have loved to see that" Fred laughed.

"Anyway, I wanted to test if he really reacted that way because of me and lay down in the garden to bath in the sun only wearing my boxers" James continued.

"And? Did it work?" Fred asked curiously.

"Yes, it did. So afterwards I tested his reaction to touch."

"What kind of touch?" Roxanne asked. She didn't sound half as amused as her twin brother.

"Innocent, seemingly accidental touches, for example a brush of the hand while walking by" James explained.

"And it worked?" Fred asked sceptically.

"Yes, you should have seen how madly he blushed during dinner. Mum thought he was ill" James chuckled.

"James, I know you don't like Malfoy but do you have to play with his feelings?" Roxanne asked disapprovingly.

"I'm not playing with his feelings. I never pretended that he has a chance with me" James defended himself.

"And all those touches don't give him the impression there could be something?" she asked sharply.

"Oh come on, Roxy, we are talking about Malfoy. He might think I'm hot but he's no crushing schoolgirl, he can deal with it" James said.

"Alright, I hope you know what you are doing but please don't go too far" Roxanne pleaded.

"Relax, Roxy. It's just a bit of fun" Fred took James' side.

Roxanne admitted defeat and changed the topic.

"Are you still coming over for a few days?" she asked.

"Of course. I wouldn't let you down for Malfoy, no matter how much fun it is to tease him" James assured her.

"Do you have already decided when you are coming over yet?" Fred inquired.

"Do you think I could just stay with you today?" James asked.

"Sure, if Aunt Ginny doesn't mind" Roxanne replied.

"I will ask her. Can I floo her from the flat above the shop?"

"Sure, you know no one's living there at the moment" Fred reminded him.

"And you're sure your parents won't mind me staying for a day or two?"

"Rubbish, you know Mum and Dad. They never mind you staying over. But if you want I can just ask Dad to make sure" Roxanne offered.

"Alright, Fred and I go upstairs to floo Mum and you ask Uncle George, ok?" James suggested.

Fred and Roxanne nodded in agreement. Fred and James went upstairs and entered the small flat George had lived in so many years ago together with his twin Fred. No one had lived here in years and it was very dusty but the fireplace was still connected to the flue-network.

They went over to the fireplace that was located in the eat-in kitchen. Beside the eat-in kitchen the flat only consisted of two bedrooms and a bath. Fred and Roxanne planned to move in here after their last year at Hogwarts until they could afford something better.

James took a bit of flue powder and threw it into the fireplace, he called out: "Potter Cottage" and his head spun until it appeared in the fireplace of his mother's kitchen. Luckily his mother noticed him immediately.

"James, what is it? Has something happened?" she asked.

"No, no Mum. Everything's alright. I just wanted to ask if I could stay with Roxy and Fred for a day or two" James said.

"I don't mind. If George and Angelina are alright with it, you can stay over for a day or two, but no longer" Ginny agreed.

"Thanks, Mum" James said grinning brightly at her. Then he pulled his head back out of the fire and ended their conversation.

Albus and Scoprius arrived back at Potter Cottage in time. Scorpius was glad when he found out James would be away for a few days. He needed the time to sort out his thoughts and feelings. Of course he had noticed how often James accidentally touched him. It was clear to him, James was doing it on purpose, Scorpius wasn't completely daft after all. The only question was: why was James doing it?

But what worried him even more was his reaction to his touches. The evening before he had decided to simply ignore James but that was easier said than done. Even worse, he had no one to talk to. No one even knew he was gay, he had just discovered it himself after all. He still found it hard to admit even to himself much more to others but he couldn't deny it any longer.

Besides, who would he tell? The only one present at the moment was Albus. But he could hardly tell Albus he was suddenly gay and fancied his brother, who he – still – couldn't stand. No, that wasn't a good idea.

Who else was there? His other best friend and cousin, Lucas? No, he couldn't stand the Gryffindor either and certainly wouldn't understand Scorpius.

His parents? Ha! They had already had a hard time accepting his friendship with Albus. If they didn't disinherit him because he fancied boys instead of girls, then maybe they would because the boy was no other than James Potter. No too risky.

He had to deal with this on his own and he would. He would just ignore James Potter and then these crazy feelings would hopefully disappear on their own. Only one more week and a half, then he would be back at Hogwarts and could hide in the Slytherin dungeons, where he would be safe from James.

The next two days passed quickly. Albus and Scorpius spend their days with flying, playing chess and cards, swimming in the lake on the grounds of the Potters and secretly brewing potions. Scorpius was mostly just watching, while Albus had fun brewing them. No one really knew where Albus got his passion for brewing. Harry always said he must have inherited it from his grandmother Lily.

Then James was back again and Scorpius resolution was put to test. James seemed to have become even more aggressive in the two days he was gone and Scorpius ignoring him only urged him on. His touches weren't as innocent anymore and not as accidental but he was still taking care not to get caught by his family. Therefore Scorpuis hardly ever left Albus side anymore.

Despite Scorpius precautions James still managed to catch him alone. Albus couldn't always be with his blonde friend after all. It happened one evening when Albus had asked him to bring the brooms into the shed while he helped his mother in the kitchen.

Scorpius was just leaving the shed when James appeared in the door and blocked the exit. He stepped up to Scorpius until the retreating boy was pushed up against the wall. James lifted his hand and touched Scorpius cheek, again stained by a blush.

"As often as you blush in my presence nowadays one could think you have a crush on me" James taunted.

"As often as you have touched me in the last few days one could think you fancy me" Scorpius replied angrily.

"And if I did?" James asked in a husky voice and stepped even closer to Scorpius.

"Scorpius was desperately searching for a way out of this situation but couldn't find one. James had put his hands on the wall left and right from his head and prevented his escape. Before Scorpuis could say anything in reply, James leaned in and kissed him.

Scorpius froze in shock. He was so shocked in fact that he didn't even think of pushing James away. James just continued to kiss him and numbly he started to kiss him back. How long they stood there kissing neither one could say.

"Sorpius! Where are you? Dinner is ready!" Albus voice suddenly interrupted them.

Startled, the two of them jumped apart. James quickly turned and left the shed. Scorpius was still standing there frozen to his spot completely dazed. The thoughts were running through his mind. _Why did I return the kiss? Why didn't I just push him off me? I wanted to ignore him! I didn't want to get involved with him! He is just playing with me!_

Still deep in thought he finally went back to the house. When he came into the kitchen, the others were already sitting at the table.

"Where have you been? You were just supposed to bring our brooms into the shed. It couldn't have possibly taken you that long" Albus pried.

"Sorry I kept you waiting. I was just taking a stroll outside" even to his own ears the excuse sounded lame but no one questioned him further.

Dinner passed like usual, although Scorpius and James were quieter than normal, though it went unnoticed. _Just one more week_, Scorpius tried to reassure himself. _Then I will be rid of him again._


	4. Chapter 4

Summer Fling

**Chapter 4**

James had no idea what the hell had come over him to kiss Malfoy. Yes, he wanted to rub it in that he had noticed Scorpius' reactions to him but he didn't intend to go quite that far. But now that he had kissed him, he couldn't stop thinking about it. He wanted to do it again and maybe even more. Malfoy was a real looker even if he was a snake.

_Why shouldn't I have a bit of fun with him? After all he didn't complain about the kiss_, James thought.

But this was easier said than done. Malfoy seemed to be avoiding him again. He clung to Albus like a limpet. However James was only biding his time.

His chance came a few days later. Albus had caught a stomach bug and had to spend the day in bed. Scorpius had gone swimming in the lake alone and James didn't waste any time to follow him.

"Hello Malfoy" he greeted him nonchalantly.

"Potter" Scorpius replied stiffly and tried to get out of the lake and escape James. But James would have none of it.

Again Scorpius found himself pressed into a corner. Like last time James pushed his body into Malfoy's and leaned down to kiss him. Satisfied he noticed that Scorpius didn't manage to fight back this time either. And this time they didn't stop at just kissing.

"Admit it, Malfoy you simply can't resist me" James grinned when they both had regained their breath.

"Stop your games, Potter and leave me alone" Scorpius said. He tried to sound commanding but it sounded more like a plea.

"Why? We could just have some fun together. You liked it, didn't you?" James proposed confidently.

Scorpius couldn't deny it. Yes, he had liked it – a lot. But he would never admit that to James.

"It doesn't matter if I liked it or not. I don't want to be your dirty little secret" Scorpius spat.

"You want to me tell people about this? Is Hogwarts enough or do you want an article in the Daily Prophet?" James asked with sarcasm dropping from every word.

"No! I don't want there to be anything to tell about at all. I want you to leave me the hell alone!" Scorpius demanded a second time.

Again the tried to get away from James, who was still standing very close to him and felt his self-control slipping. He wanted to slap and kiss him at the same time. James made the decision for Scorpius by kissing him.

"Tomorrow at midnight here at the lake" he whispered into Scorpius' ear and left.

Scorpius was determined not to go. Potter could wait until hell froze over! The next evening he went to bed with Albus as usual but try as he might he couldn't sleep. Grumbling, he turned restlessly in his bed until he couldn't stand it anymore. He got up and went outside to take a stroll and his feet automatically carried him to the lake.

It was already a quarter past midnight but James stood still waiting at the lake. Scorpius cursed his bad luck while James grinned smugly.

"I knew you would come. I knew you wouldn't be able resist me" James grinned.

Scorpius wanted to punch his grin right off his face but sadly he had to admit James was right. He obviously couldn't resist him.

"Don't be so smug about it. Merlin knows your ego is already big enough" Scorpius just hissed.

James ignored his words and simply started to kiss him. As always Scorpius was powerless against James' persuasiveness and quickly surrendered to the pleasant sensations.

The 1st September arrived and Scorpius was glad no one had noticed his nightly escapades. It hadn't stayed at that one night. After the first time they continued to meet up nearly every night at the lake.

James and Scorpius had come to an agreement. Their relationship was purely physical, no one was supposed to know and both could end it at any time. No commitment, no emotions, just sex.

At eight o'clock in the morning James, Albus, Scorpius and Lily were woken up by Ginny. The trunks had been packed the evening before and were now loaded into the car by Harry while the Hogwarts students fought about who got into the bathroom first. Breakfast was hectic because they were running late again despite all their planning. They managed to leave at ten past nine, ten minutes later than planned.

When they arrived at Kings Cross they had still twenty minutes left before the train would leave the station. They went through the wall between platform 9 and 10 in pairs. James and Lily went first, then Albus and Scorpius and lastly Harry and Ginny. On platform 9 ¾ they met the other Weasleys. They went over to Ron and Hermione with Rose and Hugo while James immediately ran over to Fred and Roxanne. Scorpius on the other hand stayed out of the way, most of the Weasleys – especially Ron - didn't particularly like him because his last name was Malfoy.

He quickly said his goodbyes to Mr. and Mrs. Potter, thanked them for their hospitality and boarded the train to look for an empty compartment. A few minutes later Albus and Rose joined him. Ten minutes before the train left two more people entered the compartment – Lucas Zabini and his younger sister Seline, a fourth year Slytherin.

When the Hogwarts Express left the train station at eleven o'clock, Scorpius and Rose took their leave because they had to go to the prefect's compartment, but promised to return later.

"What did we miss while we were gone?" Rose asked when they returned.

"Nothing special" Albus replied.

"Nothing but those two flirting" Lucas whispered to her and nodded over to Albus and Seline who were already back in conversation. Rose giggled and sat down next to Lucas. Scorpius sat on Lucas' other side, he didn't want to bother Albus while he was flirting.

"Who are the new head boy and girl?" Lucas asked.

"Frank Longbottom and Cassandra Clearwater" Scorpius answered.

"And the prefects of our year?" he inquired.

"The other Slytherin prefect is Primrose Parkinson, the other Ravenclaw prefect is Jacob Grey, the Gryffindor prefects are Jason Creevey and Mary Webber and from Hufflepuff are John Hamiltion and Maisie McMillian" Rose listed.

"Parkinson? That conceited cow? Why did it have to be her of all people?" Lucas groaned.

"Well, she's got the best grades from the Slytherin girls, she's not as stupid as she looks" Rose tried to explain, although you could see she wasn't any happier with the decision.

The rest of the journey passed while they played chess and exploding snaps. When they neared Hogsmeade they changed into their school robes and Rose and Scorpius had to leave again to supervise the students getting off the train.

James spent the train ride with Fred, Roxanne, Alexander Wood and Alison Jordan as usual. Alison and James were prefects as well and in the same compartment as Scorpius and Rose at the beginning. Of course James and Scorpius didn't let on that something had changed between them during the holidays. They had glared at each other as usual.

Alison was Fred's girlfriend since the end of last year. Roxanne had a crush on Alex, the keeper of the Gryffindor Quidditch team but hadn't dared to ask him out yet.

When Scorpius, Rose, James and Alison had finished their duties as prefects their friends had already taken one of the carriages to the castle and the four of them ended up together in a carriage. Rose didn't mind but Scorpius felt uneasy. What if someone noticed what was going on between him and James? But his worries were unnecessary, the thought alone was too absurd to be considered and no one noticed the little signs. No one saw the lascivious grin James gave Scorpius or his answering blush.

As they got out of the carriage, James brushed past Scorpius and whispered into his ear: "Tomorrow, Room of Requirement, 10 pm". Scorpius tried to act like nothing had happened and stepped through the portal into the Entrance Hall. In the Great Hall he said goodbye to Rose and went over to sit at the Slytherin table while Rose went to the Ravenclaw table.

The Welcoming Feast went by as usual. The first years were sorted into their houses, headmistress McGonagall held a short welcoming speech and then the food appeared. Afterwards the students went to their common rooms. Scorpius had to show the Slytherin first years the way to the common room, together with Parkinson. Then he went to his dorm where Albus and Lucas were already waiting for him. Tired he went to bed and was soon asleep.

James had to do the same for the Gryffindor first years. He led them up to the seventh floor to the portrait of the Fat Lady and gave the password: "Werewolf". After he had pointed them to their dorms, he flopped down on one of the armchairs next to Fred and Roxanne. He would have liked to meet up with Scorpius tonight but he knew it would be a bad idea. He didn't want Fred and Roxanne to cotton on. Roxanne would skin him alive if she knew.

Only a few minutes later they made their way up to their dorms. They were all tired from the long train ride. James quickly fell asleep.

The next morning James rolled out of bed at eight o'clock, washed up, dressed in his school robes and went to the Great Hall for breakfast together with Fred and Roxanne. They sat down at the Gryffindor table, where Professor Longbottom was busy handing out schedules.

"Potter, Potter", he mumbled while obviously searching for James. "Ah, James!" he called out when he finally found him.

"You wanted to take Transfiguration, Defence against the Dark Arts, Charms, Herbology, Potions and Arithmancy as NEWT-level courses, didn't you?" he listed.

"Yes, Professor" James confirmed.

"Well, that's all right, except for Potions. I'm sorry, James but an Acceptable is not enough to get into the course" Neville informed him.

"Yes, I thought as much, Professor" James replied a little disappointed because it meant he wouldn't be able to become an auror like his father.

"Here you go" Neville said and gave James his schedule after he had tipped it with his wand. Then he turned to Fred.

"Mr. Weasley, you signed up for Transfiguration, Charms, Herbology, Defence against the Dark Arts and Potions, right?"

"Yes, Professor Longbottom" Fred answered.

"That seems all to be in order" he said and gave Fred his schedule, now turning to Roxanne.

"Miss Weasley, Transfiguration, Charms, Defence against the Dark Arts, Potions and Herbology?"

"Yes, Professor" she affirmed.

"I'm afraid I can't accept you into my course with only an Acceptable. But you could take Muggle Studies instead. I see you got an Outstanding there" Neville said.

Roxanne nodded in agreement and Professor Longbottom handed over her schedule.

After breakfast James, Fred and Roxanne went to DADA, their first lesson. It was one class they were all taking together.

On the other side of the Great Hall sat Scorpius with Albus, Lucas, Seline and Lysander at the Slytherin table. They got their timetables from their Head of House as well.

It was Scorpius OWL-year and they felt the effects on their first day already. The teachers basically heaped homework on them and continually reminded them how important the OWL-exams were. But Scorpius just couldn't concentrate on the lessons. His thoughts consistently wandered to James and their meeting this evening.

Albus and Lucas noticed his absentmindedness but he ignored their nosy questions. After classes they went straight to the library to get a head start on their homework so they wouldn't drown in it later. After dinner they returned to their common room and played a game of chess.

Scorpius was thinking desperately of a way to escape his friends without causing suspicion. It would look suspicious if he left the common room so close to curfew and didn't come back. He wished he had an invisibility cloak like Albus.

He was lucky. At half pas nine Albus and Lucas went to the dorm and Scorpius stayed in the common room, telling them he wanted to learn some more.

A quarter of an hour later he made his way to the seventh floor, where the Room of Requirement was located. Fortunately curfew started at ten, so he didn't need to worry about being caught yet. Besides, he was a Prefect now. When he arrived a door had already appeared. James was already waiting for him.


	5. Chapter 5

Summer Fling

**Chapter 5**

James was sitting in the Gryffindor common room waiting patiently for half past nine to arrive. Fred and Roxanne who were sitting with him doing their homework kept throwing him curious glances.

"What's up with you James? Do you have a hot date tonight?" Fred joked.

_Damn! What am I supposed to tell him now? There is no way I can tell him the truth_, James thought.

"You are dead-on as usual, you know me far too well" James replied in the same joking manner, hoping he would ask no more questions.

"Really? With whom? Do we know him?" Roxanne inquired.

_Damn! Damn! Damn! _James thought. _How will I get out of this mess again?_

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that. He wants to stay anonymous", James said staying as close to the truth as possible. Roxanne somehow could always tell when he was lying.

"Anonymous? Does that mean you won't tell us who he is, or can't tell us because you don't know his name yourself?" Fred dug deeper.

"I may have a lot of one-night stands but I would never sleep with someone I don't even know the name of" James bristled.

"Ok, ok, don't get your wand in a knot, I was only joking" Fred laughed.

"But why won't you tell us who you are dating? We wouldn't tell anyone, you know that" Roxanne wouldn't relent.

"I told you, he doesn't want anyone else to know. I have to go, see you later!"

James quickly made his escape from the common room although it was still a little too early. He walked to the Room of Requirement and paced three times in front of the wall, thinking _I need a room to meet up with Malfoy, I need a room to meet up with Malfoy, I need a room to meet up with Scorpius._

A door appeared on the previously empty wall and James opened it. He stepped into the room and looked around in curiosity. The room wasn't particularly big but had a cosy feeling to it. The floor was covered in red carpet, the walls were a beige colour, on one of the walls was a fireplace with a fire crackling inside and candles were burning, scattered around the room. The only furniture in the room was a huge four poster bed with red curtains and beige bedclothes.

James was a bit surprised at the somewhat romantic atmosphere but was glad to have a bed available for the first time. At his home they had not dared to meet in his room. He took a look at his watch and saw it was only half past nine. Scorpius would not arrive until ten o'clock, if he would come at all.

Bored, James took out the marauder's map and checked if Roxanne or Fred had followed him. Fortunately they were still in the Gryffindor common room. Then he looked for the dot with the name Scorpius Malfoy. As expected, he found it in the Slytherin common room. At a quarter to ten the dot started to move from the common room to the seventh floor. Quickly James erased the map and put it back into his pocket.

Only minutes later the door opened and Scorpius stepped into the room. He hesitated for a moment, looked around and sneered.

"I don't understand why you Gryffindors like red so much."

"Well, I don't understand how you Slytherins can like green so much" James scoffed in reply.

Then he stepped up to Malfoy and kissed him roughly. They didn't talk much after that.

An hour later they tracked back to their dorms. James accompanied Scorpious to the Slytherin common room in the dungeons so he wouldn't be caught after curfew, before he went back to Gryffindor tower.

When he entered his dorm he noticed that Fred had waited up for him. And he obviously wanted answers.

"Now that you are back you can tell me why you fled earlier. And don't try to deny, it was obvious you ran from the common room to avoid answering our questions. Now talk!" Fred demanded.

"I already told you, I can't tell you his name. I promised" James said annoyed.

"Alright" Fred relented. "At least tell me if it's something serious or just another fling" He said.

"Neither nor, we are just having a bit of fun together" James explained.

Fred lifted an eyebrow. "And how long is this fun supposed to last?" he asked.

"I don't know. Until one of us gets bored, I guess" the raven haired Gryffindor replied.

"I wonder how long that will take. Plus, I still want to know who your mysterious lover is and I will find out, if you want me to or not" he warned.

"Please don't call him my lover" James said grimacing. "This has nothing to do with love at all. That sounds so wrong."

"Then what am I supposed to call your mysterious friend?" Fred asked.

"Nothing, I wish you would just forget he even exists" James said.

"No way. I want to know what's going on and I'm sure Roxy will help me find out" Fred said confidently.

James gave up trying to talk his cousin out of it and went to bed. He couldn't fall asleep though and pondered how to meet with Scorpius without Fred and Roxanne finding out. He only hoped Scorpius was more successful stealing away.

The next few weeks passed with homework, Quidditch and secret trysts. James had been careful the last few weeks to avoid Fred and Roxanne finding out about Malfoy. He had expected to quickly find someone else at Hogwarts to replace Malfoy so he could leave him like all the others before him but somehow Scorpius managed to keep his interest.

Fortunately, Albus was still clueless about the relationship of his brother and his best friend. He was caught up in his own relationship troubles. He fancied Seline, Lucas little sister, and didn't dare to tell him. Seline obviously returned his feelings but none of them dared to make the first move.

Lucas on the other hand had known about their mutual feelings for a long time and he had also noticed Scorpius disappearing on a regular basis. He decided it was time to have a talk with his two best friends.

Albus, Scorpius, Seline and Lucas were sitting together in the Slytherin common room on a Saturday working on their homework. Albus and Seline were making doe eyes at each other, while Scorpius kept looking at his watch. Finally Lucas had had enough.

"Albus, Seline, why don't you go find an alcove and snog already! And Scorpius, stop looking at your watch every five seconds and come to the dorm with me, we need to have a talk!" he spat at his friends and his little sister.

The three blushed and looked down in embarrassment. Then Albus and Seline looked at each other shyly and grinned. Albus took her hand, pulled her up from the sofa, led her to an empty corner of the common room and proceeded to do exactly what her brother had told him to do. Seline didn't complain and gladly returned the kiss.

Meanwhile Scorpius followed Lucas up to the fifth year's dorm, silently berating himself for not being more careful. He hoped he could put him off with a small white lie.

"Alright, what's up with you, Scor? Don't think I haven't noticed you sneaking off. I haven't said anything until now because it's none of my business but frankly, I'm worried about you. Where are you sneaking off to? What are you doing? Why are you keeping secrets from us?" he asked.

Scorpius didn't know what to say. He didn't want to lie to his friends or keep secrets from them but they wouldn't understand what he was doing and why. Merlin, he didn't even understand it himself half of the time. Again and again he had tried to break it off or just not turning up for their secret meetings but he simply couldn't. James was like a drug for him. Forbidden but oh so good.

"I-I'm gay" he whispered in a strained voice. He had decided to be at least partly honest with his friend and cousin.

For a moment Lucas was stunned into silence. He certainly hadn't expected something like that but recovered after a short while.

"You are meeting up with someone? Do you have a boyfriend?" he asked interested.

"Not exactly. I have been meeting up with someone but we aren't really together. We just...experiment" Scorpius said blushing bright red.

"Who is it?" Lucas asked the dreaded question.

"You are taking this very calmly" Scorpius stated to distract him from the question.

Lucas shrugged. "I admit you really surprised me but I'm no homophobe. I don't care if you like boys instead of girls" Lucas explained.

Scorpius wanted to hug Lucas but restrained himself and just gave him a relieved smile.

"I'm glad at least you don't mind" he said.

"Why haven't you told Al yet? You know he won't mind that you are gay since his brother already came out two years ago. Or does he already know?" Lucas asked puzzled.

"No, he doesn't" Scorpius admitted.

"But why?"

"I don't know" the blond whispered. He knew why he didn't tell Albus but he couldn't explain his reasons to Lucas. It was simply too dangerous. What if Albus heard of James newest fling and put two and two together? No, he simply couldn't risk it.

"Alright back to the question. Who are you dating?" Lucas asked.

Scorpius cursed under his breath. "I can't tell you. I promised him that no one would find out about us" he used the same excuse James had used for Fred. It wasn't even really a lie. Neither of them wanted anyone to find out about their arrangement.

"Why? Is it because he's ashamed of being gay or of being with you?" Lucas said sounding slightly angry now.

"He just likes his privacy. You know how fast rumours spread here at Hogwarts. Besides, I'm not keen on the whole school knowing about it either. Who knows how my parents will react. Can you imagine their reactions?" he tried to calm Lucas down.

"Ok, I get it" his friend said.

"I have to go now he's probably already waiting for me. See you later!" he shouted and exited the dorm relieved to escape any more questions.

Weeks passed, Lucas had stopped asking questions but covered Scorpius frequent disappearances. Albus and Seline were so caught up in each other they didn't notice anything going on around them. Add to that the mountain of homework for the OWL-students and Albus' duties as Quidditch captain and it was no wonder he didn't notice Scorpius acting oddly. He hardly knew whether he was coming or going.

James also had a Quidditch team to train and as the first game approached – Gryffindor vs. Slytherin – James and Scorpius had less and less time for their secret meetings. Halloween came and went and it got uncomfortably cold outside. Still the teams spend a lot of time on the Quidditch pitch for practice. The rivalry between the two houses was still as strong as ever and both teams were set on winning. Between James and Albus sibling rivalry also came into play. The atmosphere was extremely tense.

This tension carried over to James and Scorpius now infrequent meetings. They fought more and more fiercely, even outside their meetings when they met in the hallways they reacted more violently than usual to each other. Still neither of them thought of ending their secret trysts.

Excited everyone awaited the game that would take place the second week of November. James and Albus were both determined to win and Scorpius was determined to proof to James that he was at least as good a chaser as the Gryffindor.


	6. Chapter 6

Summer Fling

**Chapter 6**

On the second Saturday of November, the first Quidditch-game of the season took place - Gryffindor vs. Slytherin. Nearly the whole school was on the stands around the Quidditch-pitch, waiting for the game to begin.

"Welcome to the first Quidditch-game of the season! Gryffindor vs. Slytherin! A fight between the two sons of Gryffindor's former star seeker, Harry Potter!" the voice of Jarrod Jordan came from the commentator's microphone.

The crowd went wild, cheering for their teams. Rose was one of the few spectators who didn't root for one of the teams. She was a Ravenclaw herself and didn't want to choose between her two cousins.

"Here are the Gryffindors: POTTER, WEASLEY, WOOD, WEASLEY, WEASLEY, WOOD AND POTTER!" Jordan announced.

"And no, I'm not confused. The Gryffindor team currently consists of three Weasleys, two Potters and two Woods," Jordan explained.

"And now the Slytherin team! POTTER, MALFOY, FLINT, SCAMANDER, ZABINI, PUCEY AND FLINT!"

The two teams were standing on the pitch opposite each other and James and Albus stepped forward towards each other. As captains they shook hands and then mounted their brooms together with the rest of their team. At Madam Hooch's whistle they kicked off and rose into the air. James instantly went for the quaffle, as did Scorpius, while Albus rose higher to search for the snitch. His little sister Lily, who had managed to get the Gryffindor seeker position, was hard on his heels.

"Potter has the quaffle but there comes Malfoy and tries to take it. Now Zabini sends a bludger after Potter, Potter doges but lets go of the quaffle. Malfoy is there to catch it," Jordan shouted.

"Malfoy is now on the way to the Gryffindor goal posts. Potter and Louis Weasley try to block his way but he dodges them. Fred Weasley sends a bludger after him but Zabini is there to fend it off, Malfoy shoots and GOAL FOR SLYTHERIN!"

The Slytherins cheered, while the Gryffindors groaned and booed. Scorpius and Lucas gave each other a high five.

"Olivia Wood catches the quaffle and passes it over to Weasley, Weasley to Potter, Potter dodges Malfoy and Scamander, shoots, Flint isn't able to catch it and GOAL FOR GRYFFINDOR!"

This time the Gryffindors cheered while the Slytherins booed loudly. The game continued this way, neither team was able to gain the upper hand. After half an hour the score was 60:50 for Gryffindor.

"Lily Potter seems to have spotted the snitch. But Albus Potter is right behind her. Pucey sends a bludger after Lily Potter and earns himself an angry glare from his team captain. Albus Potter is apparently still very protective of his baby sister. But the distraction was obviously enough and the snitch is gone," Jarrod Jordan commented.

Fifteen minutes later the score was 60:80 for Gryffindor. The Gryffindors were cheering continuously now. The Slytherins weren't quiet either and cheered loudly for their team.

"Albus Potter has spotted the snicht and is now going into a dive. Lily Potter follows close behind. Fred Weasley hits a bludger in Albus Potter's direction but now Lily has caught up with him and gets in the way, Roxanne Weasley can't get there in time and the bludger hits Lily Potter's head. She collides with Albus Potter, apparently she's unconscious. Albus Potter stops chasing the snitch and instead gets his sister safely to the ground to Professor Longbottom who will bring her to the infirmary. Gryffindor is now without a seeker," the microphone sounded.

Only a few minutes later Albus caught the snitch and the game ended 90:220 for Slytherin. As soon as the game was over Albus, the Weasleys and the Scamander brothers ran up to the infirmary to see Lily. James of course didn't miss the opportunity to shout at Fred for landing their seeker, his little sister no less, in the hospital wing.

"You never mind when I hit Albus with a bludger," Fred defended himself.

"Yes, but Al belongs to the opposite team and I know he can take it," James stated unmoved by his argument.

"I don't know if I should be insulted or flattered," Albus said dryly.

They arrived at the hospital wing and wanted to enter but Victoire intercepted them.

"Only five visitors at a time," she told them.

The students looked at each other and tried to determine who was allowed to go first. They decided on James, Albus, Hugo, Lucy and Lorcan. James and Albus took precedence as her brothers and Hugo, Lucy and Lorcan were Lily's best friends.

When they stepped into the hospital wing they saw Lily lying on one of the beds with her head bandaged and obviously still unconscious. Victoire came over to talk to them.

"How bad is it?" James asked.

"Don't worry, in a few days she will be as good as new. She has only got a bad concussion, that's all," Victoire assured them.

"Thank you Madam Lupin," Lorcan said quietly.

It was weird for the others to address Victoire as Madam Lupin or hear it from others but at school she wasn't their cousin but a member of the staff and had to be treated as such. Victoire only nodded and went back to her office.

The five students stood around the bed. James and Albus were standing left and right from Lily, each holding one of her hands. To that view she woke up then minutes later.

"What happened?" she asked slightly disoriented.

"You were hit on the head by a bludger," Lorcan explained.

"Oh," she said and grabbed her head. "That explains the headache."

"We lost, didn't we?" she asked James.

"Yes, but it wasn't your fault, you were brilliant, Lily," James tried to cheer her up.

"Who hit me with that bludger? I'd like to pay them back with a well placed bat-boogie hex," she growled fiercely.

James looked a little worried while the others tried to stifle their laughter. Lily's bat-boogie hex rivalled her mother's. Still, it was James who answered her question.

"Fred. He was aiming for Al but you flew right into the line of fire and were hit instead."

"You mean to tell me someone from my own team, my own family, knocked me out? Oh, I will so get him back for this," she threatened.

"I think someone should warn him," Hugo murmured. He knew very well what it was like to be on Lily Potter's bad side and it was not pleasant. His best friend and cousin had inherited the infamous Weasley temper.

Before Lily could work herself up into a full blown tantrum, Victoire came back from her office and shooed them out.

"You can send the next five visitors in," she said while handing Lily some potions. Lily took them and screwed up her face at their nasty taste.

James, Albus, Lorcan, Hugo and Lucy left the hospital wing, where the rest of the family was still waiting outside. Rose, Roxanne, Louis and Lysander went in next. Fred wanted to follow them but James held him back.

"I wouldn't go in there if I were you. She is pretty angry at you at the moment. Give her some time to cool down before trying to apologize," he advised him.

Fred took James' warning to heart and went back to Gryffindor Tower with him and Hugo, where everyone seemed a little down because they had lost the Qudditch-match. James didn't linger in the common room for long and decided to go looking for Malfoy instead. He needed a distraction.

He was lucky. The Slytherin team had apparently decided to wait for their captain in their locker room, celebrating their victory. James was hoping to be able to catch Scorpius when the others returned to the castle so he sat down in the stands and waited.

Only minutes later the team exited the locker room together with Albus and went back to the castle. James noticed Malfoy wasn't with them. After the Slytherins were out of eyeshot, he left the stands and entered the Slytherin locker room. As he had hoped, Malfoy was the only one still there. He heard that Malfoy was still in the shower and decided to keep him company.

Weeks went by fast. Outside everything had disappeared under masses of snow and Christmas was just around the corner. The second Hogsmeade weekend was only a few days away and everyone wanted to use the opportunity to buy Christmas presents. Fred Weasley on the other hand was already planning for another special day.

"Hey Al! Can I talk to you for a moment?" Fred asked after he intercepted him after classes in one of Hogwarts' many hallways.

"Sure, what's up?" Albus inquired.

"Not here," Fred whispered and dragged him into an unused classroom.

Albus raised one of his eyebrows questioningly.

"You are good at potions, aren't you?"

"Yes, you already knew that," Albus confirmed, wondering what Fred was up to.

"Have you ever experimented with potions? Tried to create something new?" Fred inquired.

"Fred, what are you up to?" Albus demanded. Normally, he tried to keep out of the twins and his brother's pranks.

"I've got something planned for Valentine's Day but I can't find a potion that would do exactly what I'm looking for. If I showed you the recipes I found and that are similar to what I want, could you invent a potion for me then?" Fred asked, explaining his idea.

"I don't know. Sometimes I experiment with potions but I've never tried to invent something completely new. It would definitely be a challenge. But I can't promise you that the potion would be ready on time," Albus mused.

"Would you try?"

"What exactly do you want the potion to do and what do you need it for?" Albus inquired.

"I want the potion to give everyone who ingests it a bruise on their forehead – preferably in form of a heart – that only disappears after they've kissed the one they fancy. I think that would make Valentine's Day a lot more interesting," Fred explained.

"Alright, but why? How did you come up with that idea?" Albus asked.

"James has been dating someone since the beginning of the school year but he refuses to tell us who. I want to know who it is," Fred complained.

"I don't think it will work this way. Apparently he has been meeting this mystery bloke for quite some time in secret. It shouldn't be too hard for him to secretly steal a kiss from him sometime during the day and you would know as much as before – nothing," Albus pointed out the flaws in his plan.

"Hmm, could you add something else to the potion? Something like invisible magical handcuffs? As soon as you've kissed your crush you are bound to them and can't leave their side, or something?" Fred mused.

"I could try that but no promises. Besides, what about all the other students? What if, for example, Roxy liked Alex but Alex had a crush on Rose who in turn fancied not him but Lysander. I could go on and on like that and in the end dozen of people would be bound together. Can you imagine the havoc that would create?" Albus remarked.

"Ok, so maybe that wasn't the best idea I ever had. How about letting appear the name of the one they kissed on their forehead at dinner? That way we would know who James kissed without needing to catch him red handed," Fred suggested.

"That might work. Alright, I will try. I like a good challenge," Albus grinned.

"Great. This will be our little secret. Don't tell anyone about this, not a soul," Fred warned him.

"Don't worry, I won't", Albus promised.

"Thanks, Al! I knew I could count on you," Fred said clapping him on the shoulder and went back to Gryffindor Tower.

Albus remained in the abandoned classroom for a little while longer and then walked back to his own common room. _What trouble have I gotten myself into now? _He wondered.


	7. Chapter 7

Summer Fling

**Chapter 7**

It was the last Hogsmeade weekend before the Christmas holidays and the stores were packed with students, searching for presents to give to their friends and family. The paths were covered with snow but that didn't deter the Hogwarts students at all. Albus had invited Seline on a date, so Scorpius was alone with Lucas and Rose. He felt like the fifth wheel and wished he could meet with James instead.

_Hold on, did I just think James would be better company than my friends? I really should get my head checked._

Lucas and Rose weren't dating but the sparks flying between them were plain for Scorpius to see. So he separated from them after a while under the pretence of wanting to buy presents for them. It wasn't really a lie but still only an excuse to get away from them. He strolled through Hogsmeade alone, only now and then stepping into a store to buy a present for someone.

There weren't many people on his list, only his parents, Lucas, Seline, their parents, Albus and Rose, maybe Lysander. He had thought about giving James a present for Christmas but had decided against it. Surely James wouldn't give him anything either. Their relationship was still strictly physical.

James didn't fare much better. Fred was with his girlfriend Alison, Louis had asked Olivia Wood out on a date and Roxanne and Alex were flirting heavily beside him. After a while he couldn't bear it any longer and went his own way. Roxanne and Alexander didn't even seem to notice.

In front of Honeydukes James' and Scorpius' ways crossed. As usual they weren't able to ignore each other.

"All alone, Malfoy? Has my brother finally realized that you're bad news?" James couldn't resist taunting Scorpius.

"All alone, Potter? Has your family finally noticed how annoying you are?" Scorpius gave back.

"Fuck you, Malfoy," James cursed angrily.

Scorpius stepped towards him until only inches separated them.

"Wouldn't be the first time, would it?" he whispered.

Then he stepped back, turned around and left James standing in the middle of the street.

_What was that?_ James wondered.

Without even noticing, he began to follow Scorpius, still lost in thought. He followed him to the Shrieking Shack where Scorpius stopped to look at the derelict shack pensively.

Scorpius had quickly noticed that he was being followed and had purposely gone there to wait for James. Very few students came here nowadays to see the Shrieking Shack and the risk of encountering someone was slim. They would be able to talk here without needing to worry about being seen.

"What are you doing here? This place isn't really haunted, you know" James remarked.

"If I thought it was haunted, I wouldn't be here. Why are you following me?" Scorpius replied.

James ignored his question. He had no answer. He hadn't even notice he had followed Scorpius until he saw him standing there.

"Why did you come here?" he repeated his question.

"I wanted to know why you are stalking me and here we can talk without someone seeing us," Scorpius explained.

James apparently wasn't in the mood for talking. He stepped towards Scorpius and kissed him. Then he whispered into his ear: "Room of Requirement in an hour," and quickly left for Hogwarts. Scorpius watched him go before following him. No one would miss them in the next few hours anyway.

At the leaving feast all the students were chattering excitedly with their friends about their plans for the holidays and even the professors on the head table seemed to be in a good mood. The Great Hall was decorated festively with the usual twelve Christmas trees. Mistletoe was hanging everywhere, giving James and Louis, who many students had a crush on, a hard time getting around the castle. They, with the rest of their family, where scheduled to leave the next morning with the Hogwartsexpress to go home for the holidays.

When the end of the feast drew near, Professor McGonagall stood to address the students.

"Attention please," she stated and the students fell silent.

"I'd like to announce that Madam Pomfrey will return to Hogwarts after the holidays for the rest of the school year as substitute for Madam Lupin, who will have her first child in February. Madam Lupin will presumably return to us next school year."

"To those of you, who are going home tomorrow to spend Christmas with your families: The Hogwartsexpress will leave from Hogsmeade at 11 o'clock sharp, so please gather in the Entrance Hall with your luggage at 10 o'clock. I wish all of you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!"

After her speech she sat down again and started talking with Professor Flitwick, who was sitting next to her. The students stood up from their seats and left the Great Hall to go to their dormitories.

The next day most of the students were gathered in the Entrance Hall with their luggage. It was loud and crowded as everyone was trying to find their friends to say good bye. The Weasleys were relatively easy to find among the crowd because of the mass of red hair. Albus easily made his way over to his family. He, James, Louis and Hugo were the only ones still at Hogwarts without the trademark red hair.

Scorpius, Lucas and Seline followed Albus and together they waited for the carriages that would bring them to the train station in Hogsmeade. When the carriages arrived they had to separate again since only four people fit into one carriage. Albus, Lucas, Rose and Seline shared one carriage, while James, Fred, Roxanne and Louis shared another. Hugo, Lily and Lucy were left to share a third one. They stayed in the same groups when they went looking for compartments on the train and James and Scorpius only saw each other again at King's Cross.

At King's Cross the Hogwarts students were picked up by their parents. Although Albus and Scorpius had been friends since their first year at Hogwarts, the Malfoys still kept their distance from the Weasley and Potter families. Draco and Harry nodded at each other in greeting and Ginny and Astoria shared a short smile but that was all.

Albus and Scorpius said their goodbyes and promised to write each other over the holidays like they did every year. James ignored Scorpius to avoid suspicion and Scorpius did the same. The Malfoys apparated from platform 9 ¾ while Harry and his family took the car.

As always the holidays at the Weasleys were complete chaos. Nana Molly still insisted on having the whole family over at the burrow for Christmas and it was always a cheerful affair.

Molly was especially excited this year because she was looking forward to having her first great-grandchild and had knitted mountains of baby blankets and clothes for Victoire, who was now seven months along. The rest of the family also gave Teddy and Victoire mainly things for their baby. Babygros, a pram, books on how to raise a child (from Percy), and more.

After they had unwrapped their presents there was a huge feast, of course cooked by Molly. She refused to accept the help of her daughter or daughters-in-law. The living room and the dining table had to be expanded to fit all the people.

When the meal was over, Albus sneaked away to one of the upper rooms. Since Fred had asked him for help he had worked tirelessly on the potion. He had bought the necessary ingredients in Hogsmeade and now wanted to start on his first experiments. As expected it wasn't easy and he would have to accept some failures and disappointments before he found the right combination. But he was determined to brew the required potion.

During all the hustle and bustle no one had noticed his disappearance and when he reappeared in time for cake no one took note. Tired and full with Nana Molly's food they finally made their way home sometime in the evening.

Albus spent the next few days brewing in his room. It wasn't the first time he did that and no one wondered about him staying in his room all day. He had sent Scorpius his Christmas present – a book about animagi – on the second day of Christmas and got his own on the same day – new potion ingredients. With the present came a letter, as promised.

_Hi Al!_

_I hope you are having a nice break and don't spend your whole time brewing in your room. Here at the Manor everything is as usual. We had a boring Christmas dinner with Aunt Daphne, Uncle Blaise, Lucas and Seline. I would have died of boredom without those two._

_Father has expressed his sympathy to Uncle Blaise, because he will apparently get one of Harry Potter's sons as his son-in-law. I don't understand why Father insists on holding on to his old grudges. At least he has stopped asking me to dump you and find better friends. You don't need to worry about Uncle Blaise though he doesn't seem to have anything against you as his son-in-law. His only comment was: "At least he's a Slytherin."_

_Mother is preparing a party for New Year's Eve again and will probably invite your family, too. It's the only good thing about this party. You know how much I hate them._

_See you soon_

_Scorpius_

Albus had to laugh at some points while reading the letter but couldn't help worrying about Seline's father. He hoped she wouldn't want to introduce him to her parents at the party but he knew she probably would. He quickly started writing a response.

_Hey Scor,_

_It's good to know you survived Christmas and didn't die of boredom. I will have to thank Lucas and Seline for that. I would hate to have to search for a new best friend._

_Thanks for the potions ingredients by the way. It's just what I needed. I'm trying something new at the moment but can't get it to work how I want it to, yet._

_My parents will probably accept the invitation to your party, even if it's just out of courtesy, and I will probably have to tag along. But of course I will gladly make this sacrifice to make this evening bearable for you. I just hope Seline will wait to introduce me to her parents._

_Love_

_Al_

He had written a letter to Seline as well that he sent together with her and Lucas' presents.

James spent his days with flying outside even thought it was bitter cold and thinking of new strategies for his Quidditch-team he wanted to try after the holidays. After being defeated by Slytherin he was determined to win the next two games against Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff to still have a chance at winning the cup.

To his own surprise he missed Scorpius. _No, I don't miss Malfoy. I only miss our meetings, the sex, nothing else, _he reassured himself. Still, he longed to see Malfoy again and wished for the holidays to end, something that had never happened before.

Scorpius didn't fare much better. He liked the presents he got from Albus, Lucas, Seline, his parents, godparents and grandparents but he was terribly bored. His mother was busy planning her New Year's party, his father as usual spent most of his time in his office and Lucas wasn't able to come over every day. He was so bored he wished he could fight with James – or sleep with him. _I've obviously gone mad form boredom if I'm yearning for Potter's company, _he thought with a shudder.

Normally he hated his mother's parties but this time he was actually looking forward to it. It was a welcome distraction from the boredom that plagued him. _Maybe James will even be there_, his traitorous mind whispered.


	8. Chapter 8

Summer Fling

**Chapter 8**

As Scorpius had predicted, the Potters had gotten an invitation to Astoria Malfoy's New Year's party and had to attend out of politeness, after all their sons were best friends. Albus, Lily and even James were forced to accompany their parents.

"But Mum, I'm of age, you can't force me," James complained.

"I can and I will," Ginny replied in a tone that made James duck his head and accept his fate.

"Can I at least wear my normal clothes?" he whined.

"No, James! The invitation clearly states formal clothing and for people like the Malfoys that means dress robes and no muggle clothing and surly not jeans!" Ginny exclaimed.

"I hate dress robes," James muttered quietly to himself to avoid angering his mother even more.

He decided to wear his crimson dress robes hoping the Gryffindor-colour would piss the Malfoys off. The dark red suited him with his raven black hair, brown eyes and natural tan. Albus on the other hand wore Slytherin-green, it accentuated his emerald green eyes. Harry's dress robes were plain black, Lily wore azure and Ginny dark-blue dress robes.

Together they apparated to Malfoy Manor. James apparated alone, since he had gotten his apparition license a short while ago, while Harry took Albus and Ginny took Lily. They landed in front of the wide open gate, stepped through and walked up the gateway to the entrance. At the door stood a house elf that took their cloaks and pointed them towards the ballroom.

When they stepped into the ballroom they were immediately greeted by Astoria Malfoy and Scorpius. Draco stayed in the background and just nodded a short greeting before turning his attention back to some other guests. Astoria seemed to have invited the High Society of the wizarding world and they had followed her invitation. Organizing parties and other celebrations was her job and she had already organized a few of them for the ministry during her career. She organized everything, weddings, birthdays, ministry functions and so on.

Harry spotted Kingsley Shacklebolt, the minister, among the guests and went over to him and his wife together with Ginny after they had greeted and thanked Astoria appropriately for the invitation. Lily, Albus and James stayed at the entrance, looking a little lost, until Scorpius spotted them and led them to a corner of the room where some other teenagers about their age were standing.

While they moved through the crowd, they noticed the number of house elves that were running around, offering wine and hors d'oeuvres. _Aunt Hermione wouldn't be happy at all_, James, Albus and Lily thought. When they reached the corner they recognized Lucas and Seline. James didn't know the others but remembered seeing them at Hogwarts.

"You already know Lucas and Seline. The others are Mai, Naomi, Namida and Christian Corner, Marigold and Gus Goyle and Euan and Maisie McMillian," Scorpius introduced them, always pointing out the one he was introducing. He only hesitated for a moment at Naomi and Namida because he couldn't tell the twins apart.

"I don't think I need to introduce the three of you," he stated.

James felt uncomfortable and out of his element. None of them were Gryffindors. Most of them were Slytherins, the twins were in Ravenclaw and three were Hufflepuffs. He and Lily were the only Gryffindors in the group. Then he noticed Teddy and Victoire in the crowd. He quickly made his escape and went over to them. Lily followed him, apparently she, too felt out of place.

Albus stayed faithfully at his best friend's side although he would have liked to accompany his siblings.

"What are Teddy and Victoire doing here?" he asked Scorpius.

"Mother invited them because they are family, just like Great-aunt Andromeda. She doesn't seem to care that Great-aunt Andromeda and Grandfather Lucius can't stand each other. Mother invited her regardless but she declined the invitation, although Grandma Narcissa had hoped so much she would come," Scorpius told him.

"I thought Andromeda and your Grandmother had made up long ago," Albus said confused.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean everything is forgiven and forgotten. Great-aunt Andromeda never comes here if she can avoid it," Scorpius explained.

Albus nodded and let the subject drop. Then he went over to Seline to greet her properly. Since they were surrounded by so many people he could only give her a chaste kiss on the cheek. He was happy to see her and delighted that she had decided to wear the necklace he gave her for Christmas. Suddenly she took his hand and proceeded to drag him over to her parents. He looked at Scorpius, pleading for help but neither he nor Lucas seemed inclined to help him.

"Papa, Mamma, may I introduce? This is my boyfriend, Albus Potter. Albus, these are my parents, Blaise and Daphne Zabini," Seline said after she had dragged him in front of her parents.

Mr. Zabini was tall, slender and had black hair, brown eyes and a natural tan thanks to his Italian heritage. His wife Daphne was Astoria's older sister but had blonde hair instead of brown. They did have the same blue eyes though.

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Zabini," he said nervously.

"Likewise," Mr. Zabini replied curtly and held out his hand. Albus took it and they shook hands briefly. Although he had been friends with Lucas for quite some time he had never met his parents before.

"I heard you are the new Slytherin Quidditch-captain?" Mr. Zabini asked.

"Yes, that's right, Sir," Albus affirmed, wondering what he was getting at.

"Are you planning to become a professional Quidditch player or do you have other interests as well?" Mr. Zabini inquired.

_Oh_, Albus thought, _so that's what he is getting at. He wants to know if I'm good enough for his Principessa._

"My brother, James, intends to become a professional player but I would rather get my potions mastery," he replied honestly.

"Potions? If I remember correctly, your father wasn't very fond of them," he remarked with his eyebrow raised.

"That's true, he always says I inherited my talent from my Grandmother Lily," Albus answered.

"Ah yes, I remember old Slughorn always singing her praise. But he also thought your father had talent." Apparently he couldn't resist the taunt.

"My father wasn't really bad at potions he just wasn't interested in it. He couldn't have become an auror, without a potions-NEWT," Albus defended his father.

"I apologize, old habits die hard," Mr. Zabini gave in.

"I think Lucas is waving us, see you later Papa, Mamma!" Seline interrupted them and dragged Albus away from her parents and back to the others.

"I'm sorry he interrogated you like this but I really wanted to introduce you to him. He will get used to you, I promise," Seline apologized on behalf of her father. Albus wasn't so sure but kept his mouth shut.

Scropius had watched with a grin as his best friend was dragged away by his girlfriend towards her parents.

"What's so funny, Scorpy?" a sickly sweet voice suddenly asked.

He turned around and saw Primrose Parkinson, Merigold's cousin. She had apparently just arrived. He looked at her in disgust. He hated how she called him 'Scorpy' and clung to him at every opportunity.

"Hello Prim, please excuse me, my mother is looking for me," he lied and made a bolt for it as fast as he could.

He wanted to tell her to go to hell but that would have angered his parents. They insisted on him always being polite to her. He went to one of the small guest bathrooms to hide there for a while. When he came out then minutes later, James was leaning casually on the opposite wall.

"Hello Malfoy, when did you start hiding from little girls?" James asked quizzically.

"Parkinson is no little girl, she's a Harpy. And she has it in for me," Scorpius shuddered.

"So why don't you tell her to go to hell and leave you alone?" James suggested as if it were obvious.

"Because I don't want to listen to my parents lecture me about always having to be polite to her. And she would ignore it anyway. Parkinson only hears what she wants to hear," Scorpius explained scowling.

"What's so bad about her?" James asked curious.

"You should ask what isn't, that girl's a real terror. She always calls me 'Scorpy' in this sickly sweet voice that makes me want to throw up. She constantly clings to me until I feel like I'm being hugged by a Devil's Snare and her laughter sends shivers down my spine and not in a good way," Scorpius recounted. He would have been able to continue but thought it would suffice for now.

"Ok, ok, I got it. Primrose Parkinson is a real terror. Should I help you to forget her?" James voice suddenly deepened and became seductive.

Scorpius could only nod and together they disappeared into the bathroom Scorpius had left only minutes ago.

_Damn it, why can't I keep my hands off of him? _James wondered. _And why in Merlin's name did I talk to him beforehand? I can't like him. No! Impossible! I can't stand him, never could and never will. Right! When I'm back at Hogwarts I will find me a real boyfriend._

But he had to admit Scorpius looked really good tonight in his silver-grey dress robes that made his eyes shimmer like ice. He wasn't small but not as tall as James and not as robust but lithe and only slightly muscled.

_Stop thinking of him! _He berated himself.

Scorpius didn't fare much better.

_We shouldn't have done that. What if someone had caught us? And why did I whinge to him about Parkinson? Because he asked_, he answered himself. _But why? We never talk, at the utmost we fight or throw insults at each other._

Scorpius was confused. Was this good or bad? Was it only a one-off or would they talk more often with each other now? Did he even want to talk to James? So many questions Scorpius had no answers to.

The rest of the evening he was so preoccupied with his thoughts he didn't even notice what was going on around him. Not even Primrose Parkinson, who was clinging to him like a limpet once again, could bring him back to reality. Only when she tried to kiss him at midnight did he break free and fled her presence.

The rest of the holidays passed quickly. On the 6th of January they returned to Hogwarts with the Hogwartsexpress. James hadn't forgotten about his plan to find a real boyfriend, so he could get rid of Malfoy, and let his eyes wander over the older students during the welcoming feast. Unfortunately his eyes always landed on the Slytherin table, more exactly on Scorpius Malfoy. He sighed in irritation.

"What's up?" Fred, who sat next to him, asked.

"Nothing," James answered quickly – too quickly.

"Come on, there has to be a reason for you to sigh like that," Roxanne added from his other side.

James looked at his two best friends and sighed again. He couldn't lie to them any longer but he didn't want to tell them the truth either, so he decided once again on telling half truths.

"Do you remember a few months ago when I told you I was having a fling with someone?" he asked.

"Of course, how could we forget, you refused to tell us his name. Did he break up with you?" Fred guessed.

"No! I wish he had, actually. It was just supposed to be a bit of fun, but now I'm not so sure if that's really all I want from him," he admitted.

"Are you really surprised about that? It's the longest relationship you've ever had," Roxanne stated.

"Are you going to tell us now, who we are talking about?" Fred added.

"No, I will not! I just want to forget about him," James hissed.

"But why? If you like him it can't be so bad," Roxanne said reasonably.

"It is. Please help me find a real boyfriend?" James pleaded.

"I still think you should at least talk to him. Maybe he likes you, too and is just too afraid to tell you?" Roxanne insisted.

"Please?" James begged.

"Of course we will help you, even if we disagree with you," Fred assured him.

"Thanks," James grinned.

On the Slytherin table a similar conversation took place between Lucas and Scorpius. Albus luckily didn't notice – he was too distracted by Seline's presence to pay attention to Lucas and Scorpius.

"Any news about your mystery man? Are you still meeting up with him?" Lucas asked curiously.

"Yes, we still meet," Scorpius replied.

"Did he give you something for Christmas?" Lucas inquired.

"No and I didn't give him anything either. Just for fun – remember?" Scorpius answered.

"You have been dating him for nearly half a year now, doesn't sound like 'just a bit of fun' to me," Lucas stated.

"It is and that's all there could ever be between us," Scorpius hissed and the subject was dropped.

As James and Scorpius lay in their beds that evening they both promised themselves to end their fling the next time they met.

* * *

**A/N: fujoshi ananonim: **Thanks for your review! I'm glad you like it. I hope you will like the future chapters, too.


	9. Chapter 9

Summer Fling

**Chapter 9**

The first day after the Christmas holidays, Scorpius dragged himself out of bed at 8.30, showered, combed and dried his hair, threw on his school uniform and went to breakfast with Lucas. Albus always stayed in bed until the last minute and often arrived in the Great Hall when most students were already leaving again.

After classes Scorpius, Lucas and Albus went back to the Slytherin dungeons. Scorpius and Lucas stayed in the common room to do their homework, while Albus disappeared into their dorm to continue brewing his potion. After an hour of eager writing, Scorpius quill broke and he went to their dorm to fetch a new one.

"Hey Al, what are you brewing there all the time?" he asked as he went to his trunk to search for a quill.

"Can't tell you," Albus murmured, counting his stirs.

"Why can't you tell me? Is it something illegal?" Scorpius inquired who had found a quill now and stepped closer to Albus.

"Damn!" Albus cursed suddenly. He had been distracted by Scorpius and made a mistake. The potion started bubbling violently. Quickly Albus took a few steps back but Scorpius wasn't quick enough and was hit by a few splashes of the potion.

Albus watched him fearfully. He had no idea if the potion would have worked had he brewed it correctly, much less what it would do now that he had botched it up.

"I should take you to the hospital wing in case the botched potion has any side effects," Albus said, unsure what to do.

"Scourgify!" Scorpius said, pointing his wand at himself and the remains of the potion vanished from his body and clothes. "No need to, I'm fine. Everything's safe and sound. If we go to the Hospital Wing you will only get in trouble," Scorpius refused.

"But...," Albus started.

"No but. I promise I will go the Hospital Wing as soon as I feel something is off but no sooner," Scorpius insisted. He didn't like the Hospital Wing at all.

Reluctantly Albus relented, he really didn't want to get into trouble and explain what he had tried to brew and why. Still, he was worried for Scorpius. He took comfort in the fact he had only used fairly harmless ingredients.

Shaking his head, Scorpius left the dorm and left Albus to clean up the mess. With his new quill in hand he continued doing his homework, the potions accident already nearly forgotten.

Later, when he went for dinner to the Great Hall with Albus, Lucas and Seline, they ran into James, who secretly and unnoticed by the others, passed him a note. Scorpius acted as if nothing had happened and ate dinner with his friends as usual. Only later, when they had returned to the common room, he took out the note and read it.

_Midnight, same place. JP_

Scorpius was really glad to be a Prefect at such occasions. No one would ask why he was still out and about after curfew and just assume he was on patrol. Even the teachers couldn't punish him today since he was really on patrol tonight.

It didn't cause any suspicions when he left the common room at half past ten that night. Slowly he made his round without seeing anyone. An hour later he made his way to the Room of Requirement. This time he arrived there first and walked by the wall on the seventh floor corridor three times.

_I need a room to meet up with James, I need a room to meet up with James, I need a room to meet up with James._

A door appeared he opened it and stepped through. This time the room was a little bigger. Aside the bed, there was also a sofa in front of the fireplace. The floor was covered in green carpet instead of red and the curtains of the bed were green as well. Scorpius grinned in satisfaction.

A few minutes later James entered the room and snorted in amusement when he noticed the change of colours.

"A Slytherin through and through, what can you expect," he remarked but he didn't sound as scornful as usual.

"You knew what you were getting into with me," Scorpius replied and shrugged.

"Yeah, that's what I thought, too," James murmured so quietly, Scorpius wasn't sure if he had heard him right.

Then he pulled Scorpius to him and started to kiss him everywhere. They didn't even manage to get to the bed, falling onto the couch instead.

When they were dressed again, they sat together on the couch, looking at each other. James plucked up his Gryffindor courage and voiced first what both of them were thinking.

"We need to end this. This has been going on for far too long. It was supposed to be a short summer fling and now it's already January. We need to stop," he sounded nearly desperate.

"I know. You are right. Wow, I never thought I would ever say that. But yes, I would be best if this was our last meeting," Scorpius agreed with a heavy heart.

James just nodded and quickly left the room, before he could back-pedal in a moment of weakness. Scorpius let his eyes wander around the room one last time before he left and went back to Slytherin.

The next few weeks Scorpius and James were crestfallen but both tried to act normal. James started dating other guys again but never stayed with them longer than a week. Scorpius on the other hand distracted himself with work. He finished all of his homework, prepared for the next lessons and trained for Quidditch until he was completely exhausted.

Albus on the other hand was in a really good mood. He had managed to finish Fred's potion in time for the 14th of February. Valentine's Day would surely be interesting this year.

On the morning of the 14th of February, Fred Weasley sneaked into the kitchens with the potion and persuaded the house elves to allow him to put it into the pumpkin juice. Nearly all the students drank pumpkin juice while the teachers all drank coffee or tea for breakfast. It was perfect.

"What did you do?" James immediately turned to Fred when heart shaped bruises started to appear everywhere on the students foreheads at breakfast. "Why didn't you tell me? We always do our pranks together!" he complained.

"You didn't tell me anything either!" Roxanne complained now, too.

"Sorry, but I wanted to prank you, too for once. If you had known about my plan you wouldn't have drunk any pumpkin juice," he explained.

"What do we have to do to get rid of the heart?" Roxanne inquired.

"Where did you even get such a potion? I didn't know a potion like that even existed," James asked.

"Albus. He in invented it for me," Fred announced proudly.

"Hello-o! How do I get rid of it?" Roxanne asked annoyed at being ignored by the other two.

"You have to kiss the person you have a crush on – Alex in your case. Now go and kiss him already and show the others what to do," Fred prompted her.

Roxanne blushed a little - although you could barely tell because of her dark skin - but did as Fred hat told her. A minute later, Roxanne's and Alex's hearts were gone. The students who had a boyfriend or girlfriend followed her example and most of their heart shaped bruises disappeared. But there were some interesting cases where only one or none of the hearts disappeared.

The students who weren't dating anyone were now panicking. No one wanted to run around with a heart shaped bruise on their forehead all day. Some tried to kiss just anyone but of course that didn't work.

James hadn't moved at all while this was going on and had gone a little pale. His current boyfriend came over and kissed him, but only his heart disappeared, James' stubbornly stayed in place. The students around them began to whisper. Abruptly he stood and left the Great Hall.

He waited for Scorpius in one of the alcoves near the staircase to the dungeons. He knew what he had to do to make the accursed heart disappear but he certainly wouldn't have any spectators. When Scorpius walked by his alcove, he quickly pulled him in. Scorpius looked at him in surprise but didn't fight. James quickly pressed a kiss against his lips and watched in satisfaction as Scorpius heart disappeared. Then he conjured a mirror to check and make sure his own heart had disappeared as well. He nodded shortly at the still astonished Scorpius and went to class.

When Scorpius arrived in front of the potions classroom, Albus looked at him stunned.

"Your heart is already gone," he stated in surprise.

"I know that, thanks," Scorpius mumbled.

"Who did you kiss?" Albus asked.

"None of you business," Scorpius growled back harshly.

Now Albus looked confused and a little hurt. He didn't have any time to inquire further though, because their potions professor had opened the door and let them into the classroom. Albus concentrated so hard on the lesson he didn't hear Lucas' and Scorpius' whispered conversation.

"It was your mystery guy, wasn't it?" Lucas whispered to Scorpius.

"Yes," Scorpius admitted.

"So you are still together?" he asked.

"No," Scorpius replied brusquely.

"But you still want him," Lucas reasoned.

"Yes," Scorpius sighed.

Both turned their attention back on the lesson and kept quiet for the rest of the class.

At lunch Professor McGonagall walked through the Great Hall searching out all the Potter and Weasley children. When they arrived in her office she told them smiling the good news.

"I just got word from Madam Pomfrey that Madam Lupin has had her baby. You have permission to visit her in the Hospital Wing. Just don't storm in there all at once, please."

"Thank you, Professor McGonagall," they exclaimed and instantly ran down to the Hospital Wing. When they arrived they slowed down their steps and quietly entered the room. Victoire was nowhere in sight. They were greeted by Madam Pomfrey who told them Victoire had her own room to have some privacy. Then she asked them to wait while she inquired who was allowed to go in first.

She returned two minutes later and smiled at them.

"The two Mr. Potters, Miss Potter and Mr. Louis Weasley, please come along," she then said.

James, Lily, Albus and Louis followed her into Victoire's room. Harry, Ginny, Bill, Fleur, Dominique and Andromeda were already there. Victoire was lying on the bed holding a small pink bundle in her arms. Teddy sat at her side and looked down on them lovingly.

"Hello," they said as they entered.

Harry and Ginny hugged their kids as Louis was hugged by his own family.

"Hello!" Teddy beamed at them. "May I introduce, this is your niece Vénus Nymphadora Lupin," Teddy said proudly.

"Do you 'ave already decided on godparents for 'er?" Fleur asked.

"Yes, we have, Maman," Victoire replied. "Dominique, would you like to be Vénus godmother?"

"I'd love to, sis," Dominique laughed and hugged Victoire as tight as it was possible with a baby between them.

"And would you be her godfather, James?" Teddy added. He had no real siblings he could ask but he considered Harry's children his younger siblings.

"Really? You want me as godfather?" James asked completely taken aback and a little overwhelmed.

"Of course, little brother. Who else would I ask?" Teddy laughed.

"Honestly, I expected you to ask Louis," James admitted sheepishly.

"Don't worry, he will be next time," Teddy said.

"Next time?" Victoire asked.

"You told me you wanted at least two kids, didn't you?" Teddy replied.

"Hmm, yes, I think need to rethink that," she said.

"Do you want to hold your goddaughter?" Teddy asked James to change the topic.

James nodded a little unsure and Teddy carefully transferred her to his arms. Now that he had the opportunity he looked at her more closely. She seemed to have blond hair but it already started to change colour. Her eyes were unusual, the left one was blue and the right one was a grey colour. When he looked at her hair again it looked more pink than blond. Apparently she was a metamorphmagus like her father.

When he had finished looking her over, he carefully passed her to Dominique. She also took the time to admire her goddaughter. She was quite pretty for a newborn. After everyone had gotten to hold her for a while, James, Lily, Albus, Louis, and Andromeda left the room.

Rose, Hugo, Lucy, Fred and Roxanne were still waiting outside in the Hospital Wing and finally wanted to meet their new family member. James, Albus, Lily and Louis decided to wait for their friends and sat down on the chairs the five had just vacated.


	10. Chapter 10

Summer Fling

* * *

**A/N: yume:** I hope this was soon enough.

* * *

**Chapter 10**

Fred was glad James was still there, when he left Victoire's room. He had to be alone with James somewhere at six p.m., or James would never forgive him. At exactly six p.m. the name of the one he had kissed to make the heart shaped bruise disappear would appear on his forehead and after all James had done to keep his identity secret, he couldn't let the whole school see it. James would kill him.

So he snatched James and dragged him up to their dorm, since classes would be over soon anyway. Fred pushed him over to the bed and started to spell the door locked.

"What the hell are you doing?" James asked irritated.

"It's just a precaution," Fred answered vaguely.

"What for?" James demanded.

"I have a confession to make," Fred started.

"The potion this morning has another effect that will only show this evening. Where the heart appeared this morning there will this evening appear the name of the one who made it disappear", he explained.

James stared silently at him for a moment, too shocked to say something. Then he started shouting.

"What the hell were you thinking? Do you have any idea what could happen? And I don't mean just me! What if there are others who have good reason to keep quiet about their relationship or crush?! What if someone sees _my_ name on _his_ forehead?!"

"I didn't think about that," Fred admitted sheepishly.

"I'd never thought you would go that far just to find out who I'm sleeping with," James said acidly.

"I really don't see why you want to keep it a secret so badly, what could possibly be so bad about others finding out?" Fred asked uncomprehendingly.

"For one, no one knows he's gay, he hasn't come out yet. Second, our fling would be an epic scandal and lastly it's long over. There's absolutely no need to make a big deal out of it now," James explained, slowly calming down.

"Now will you finally tell me who it is? I will find out anyway soon enough," Fred asked hopefully.

"No!"

* * *

When Albus returned to his dorm he saw Scorpius lying on his bed, reading a Quidditch magazine.

"Hey Scor," he said as he entered the room and went over to his own bed.

"Hi Al, what did McGonagall want from you? Did something happen?" Scorpius asked.

"No at least nothing bad. Victoire has had her baby this morning and we were allowed to visit her. They even made James godfather," Albus told him excitedly.

"Victoire has had her baby? Cool! Is it a boy or a girl? Do you know the name?" Scorpius asked inquisitively.

"Yes, it's a girl named Vénus Nymphadora Lupin and she has apparently inherited her father's talent to change her appearance," Albus answered.

"Really? She's a metamorphmagus, too? What did she look like?" Scorpius gushed. He wanted to know everything about his cousin's little daughter. He hoped he would be allowed to visit her as well sometime soon.

"When we arrived she had blond hair but when we left they were pink. Her eyes were different colours, one blue and one grey," Albus described her as well as he could.

"I hope I can visit her soon myself," Scorpius said.

"I'm certain you will. Victoire is still living at Hogwarts even though she's not working at the moment," Albus assured him.

Albus fetched one of his potions books and lay down on his bed to read as well.

"Oh," he suddenly remembered, "I should probably warn you. There is more to the prank this morning than just the hearts. At six o'clock when dinner starts, the name of the one you kissed will appear in place of the heart," Albus told him.

Scorpius paled dramatically and rushed into the bathroom. Albus watched him go in confusion. Quickly he slammed the door shut behind him and locked it with all the spells he could remember. Unfortunately he hadn't noticed Lucas with him in the room.

"Umm, Scorpius, what are you doing there?" he asked his cousin perplexed.

Scopius turned around so fast he lost balance and slammed into the door.

"L-Lucas, I didn't see you there," he stuttered.

"Obviously. Are you going to tell me what freaked you out so badly?" Lucas asked dryly.

"Albus told me the name of the one you kissed to make the heart disappear this morning would appear in its place during dinner. You know I can't let anyone see it," Scorpius moaned.

"And now you intend to lock yourself in here until the name has disappeared again? Do you even know how long that will take?" Lucas inquired.

"Yes, even if I have to stay in here all night. I won't go out there before the name has disappeared again," Scorpius insisted stubbornly.

"And what about me? Do I have to stay in here with you?" Lucas asked incredulously.

Scorpius looked at his watch. It was only three minutes to six – too late.

"I'm sorry. I would have let you out but I won't be able to open the door in time. You will have to stay here with me," Scorpius said apologetically but not willing to change his mind.

"But then I will see the name," Lucas pointed out.

"You could be so nice not to look at me," Scorpius stated.

"No, if I'm going to be stuck in here with you I want some compensation," Lucas refused.

It chimed six o'clock and Scorpius and Lucas foreheads started to tingle. Scorpius qickly slapped his hand in front of his forehead, so Lucas wouldn't be able to read the name. Then he looked up and took a look at Lucas', who hadn't bothered to hide it.

_Rose Weasley_

"You finally got up the courage to kiss her?" Scorpius asked.

Lucas blushed and looked down at his feet.

"Well, not exactly. She kissed me first," he admitted.

Scorpius laughed. "At least one of you finally did it. Your constant flirting was getting really annoying."

"Says the one who broke up with someone he is still crushing on," Lucas replied.

"You don't know what you are talking about," Scorpius spat.

"Maybe I would if you finally took your hand away from your forehead," Lucas hissed back annoyed.

"No."

Lucas had had enough of his friend's secretiveness. He lunged himself at Scorpius, pulled his hand away from his forehead and read the name while Scorpius unsuccessfully tried to fight back.

_James Potter_

Lucas stared and stared and stared some more. His eyes were widened in disbelieve and his mouth was wide open. He was completely speechless for some time.

"Stop gaping," Scorpius barked, pulling him out of his stupor.

"Ok, I really didn't see that one coming," he said after he had regained his composure.

"That was the plan," Scorpius remarked unhelpfully.

"Albus will go ballistic when he finds out," Lucas said, still stunned.

"Albus won't find out. It's over. There's absolutely no need to tell him," Scorpius said.

"But, but you hate each other! When did you start fancying him?" Lucas finally burst out.

This was the question Scorpius had been waiting for.

"The day after Albus' birthday," he admitted reluctantly. "I saw him in the morning only clad with a towel around his waist coming out of the bathroom and he looked...hot," he confessed, his cheeks burning.

"And then?" Lucas inquired further, not sure if he really wanted to know.

"Then he started to flirt with me, inconspicuously of course. First it was only simple, innocent touches but after a while they became less innocent until he cornered me one night and kissed me," he continued, still blushing madly.

"And you simply went along with it?" Lucas asked incredulously.

"Of course not!" Scorpius exclaimed filled with indignation. "I knew he was just messing with me. I tried to ignore him and keep out of his way but he just wouldn't give up," Scorpius explained.

"And in the end he got exactly what he wanted," Lucas said. "Why did you go along with it?"

"It felt good. It was just a bit of fun. I thought it would only last until the end of the holidays, that he would find someone else as soon as we were at Hogwarts and leave me alone." Scorpius shrugged.

Lucas could only shake his head uncomprehendingly.

* * *

Up in the Gryffindor tower James and Fred were sitting having a similar conversation.

"Come on, let me see! You can't sit there, covering your forehead with your hand forever. Sooner or later I will see it anyway," Fred tried to persuade James.

"No! I can and I will, you'll see!" James refused with determination.

"Alright, you asked for it. Stupify!" Fred shouted and pointed his wand at James. James was too surprised to defend himself and slumped to the floor, unconscious.

Fred had already gone too far to back down now. He simply had to know who James had been meeting that he didn't even want to tell his best friend about. Who would James be ashamed of? Or was he trying to protect someone, but from what?

Quickly he went over to James and pulled his hand away from his forehead. He had thought he was prepared for anything but what he read still shocked him.

_Scorpius Malfoy_

For some minutes he just sat there on the floor, staring at James' forehead. He had expected a lot of things but not this. After he had pulled himself together, he pointed his wand at James again and said "Renervate".

James woke up and looked at him uncertainly. He obviously feared Fred's reaction.

"Malfoy, James? Really? Malfoy?" he asked still a little stunned.

James just groaned, sat up and hid his face in his hands.

"I thought you promised Roxy not to go too far with him. This seems far too far to me," Fred stated.

"Could we please stop this argument? It's long over anyway," James begged.

"Apparently not if you still fancy him. And don't even try to deny it," Fred said. "It's literally written on your forehead."

"I hope Albus hasn't seen my name on Malfoy's forehead. How the hell would I explain that without him ripping my head off," James mumbled.

"Albus isn't the only one who would like an explanation. I'd like an explanation, too, preferably now," Fred reminded him.

"You already know how it started I just wanted to wind him up a little," James started to explain.

"And then?"

"You have to admit Malfoy is pretty good looking, attractive as long as he keeps his mouth shut," James said.

Fred grimaced. "Yes, I suppose you could call him handsome from an objective point of view," he admitted reluctantly.

"And he can't talk while I'm kissing him now, can he?" James stated.

"Thanks, I really didn't need that mental image," Fred said and shuddered. He really didn't want to imagine his best friend and Malfoy going at it.

"But now you understand why I had to end it, right? Why I wanted to find someone else so badly?" James asked urgently.

"I think so. A Gryffindor and a Slytherin together can only end up in a catastrophe. Those two things just don't go together," Fred said.

James just nodded while he tried to convince himself that Fred was right.

"Promise me not to tell anyone about this? Not even Roxanne?" he then asked.

"Promised," Fred grinned. "This will stay our little secret."

Down in the Slytherin dungeons Lucas promised Scoprius the same. No one else would find out about James' and Scorpius' fling.


	11. Chapter 11

Summer Fling

**A/N: Animefangirl365: **Thanks for your review! Mpreg starts in this chapter, hope you enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 11**

Scorpius had been tired and exhausted the last couple of days although there was no real reason why. He went to bed early and still couldn't get out of bed in the morning. More than once he would have overslept, if Albus hadn't woken him up. Moreover he couldn't stomach breakfast anymore. Every morning he felt so queasy he didn't dare to eat anything. At least he hadn't thrown up yet.

Still, Albus was obviously worried about him. He still felt guilty about the botched potion.

"Scorpius, you can't go on like this, you need to go to the Hospital Wing!" Albus insisted not for the first time.

"No, it's nothing. I'm sure it will go away on his own in a few days," Scorpius protested. He hated the Hospital Wing and only went there if he absolutely couldn't avoid it.

"Oh no! You've been telling me this for days now. What if it's because of the botched potion? Who knows, what effects it could have had on you. You promised me you would go to Madam Pomfrey as soon as you feel somehow off. You are coming with me now!" Albus decided and proceeded to drag a still protesting Scorpius up to the Hospital Wing.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy, what is this commotion?" Madam Pomfrey asked disapprovingly when Albus dragged the still protesting Scorpius into the Hospital Wing.

"Scorpius has been feeling ill the past few days but he refused to come and see you so I dragged him here," Albus explained.

"I'm fine I'm just a little tired that's all. No reason to bother Madam Pomfrey," Scorpius protested again.

"Oh really? And why didn't you eat any breakfast the last few days?" Albus asked irritated.

"Mr. Potter is right, you should have come to me if you aren't feeling well," Madam Pomfrey agreed and determinedly towed Scorpius over to one of the beds.

Then she took out her wand but started with asking questions first.

"So you've been unusually tired? Did you get enough sleep?" she started her enquiry.

"Yes, sometimes even more than usual but I still feel tired," Scorpius answered resigned.

"And what about breakfast? It's the most important meal of the day, you know?" she inquired further.

"I just can bring myself to eat something in the morning. I always feel a bit queasy somehow," Scorpius answered.

"Are you suffering from a lot of stress, because of school or private matters?"

"No, not really," Scorpius replied.

"Do you have any other troubles?" she asked.

"No."

"Um, Madam Pomfrey, maybe it's completely unrelated, but a few weeks ago I messed up a potion and Scorpius got splashed with it. It didn't seem to have any effects, so Scorpius instantly refused to go to you," Albus admitted sheepishly.

"Hmm, I will keep this in mind," was Madam Pomfrey's only response.

Then she started to cast diagnosis spells at Scorpius. Time passed and her frown deepened more and more until a surprised look appeared on her face.

"In all my years...," she mumbled so quietly, Albus and Scorpius could barely hear her.

"Mr. Potter, would you kindly tell me what you were trying to brew when you messed up the potion?" she then inquired.

"Um, do you remember the prank a few days ago?" Albus asked.

"You mean the one on Valentine's Day? That was the potion you were trying to brew? The one you messed up?" she wanted to know.

"Yes, no, a forerunner of it. Someone asked me to invent the potion for it and I was still experimenting when...the accident happened," Albus explained.

"My symptoms are really caused by Albus potion?" Scorpius ascertained.

"It seems to be the only logical explanation for your condition," Madam Pomfrey said.

"Condition? What condition?" Scorpius asked a little panicked now.

"I don't know how to tell you this to be honest. In all my years here at Hogwarts I've never had a case like this," she admitted.

"Madam Pomfrey, could you please just tell us what is going on?" Albus asked, tense and feeling extremely guilty.

Well, it seems you are with child, Mr. Malfoy. Normally I would say congratulations but I assume this was an accident and really not your intention," Madam Pomfrey announced.

"W-w-what?" Scorpius stuttered, while Albus just looked at him in shock.

"You are expecting, in about seven months I would guess," Madam Pomfrey repeated.

"B-but how is that possible," Scorpius asked.

"As you know, it's impossible for men to conceive naturally but over the years potions have been invented to help gay couples to have children," she started to explain.

"I believe you friend Mr. Potter accidentally brewed such a fertility potion. I also would hazard a guess that you had sexual intercourse with another male student shortly after the potions accident, am I correct?"

Scorpius just nodded dazed. Albus was still staring at him as if he was seeing him for the first time.

"I'm afraid I will have to inform your parents, Mr. Malfoy, since you aren't of age yet," Madam Pomfrey told him. That snapped Scorpius out of his daze.

"Is that really necessary?" he asked in despair. He didn't even want to imagine his parents' reactions to his news.

"Yes, I'm afraid it is. I also need to inform Professor McGonagall as it will have an impact on your education. That is if you decide to keep it. There are still the options of adoption or abortion, but you should talk with your parents about that," she said.

Scorpius nodded, still too overwhelmed by the happenings of the last few minutes to say anything.

"Good. I'm going to contact your parents now. Please wait here, Mr. Malfoy," she ordered him and went to her office.

"I'm sorry," Albus whispered, gazing down on his shoes. "I should have forced you to come here immediately then this wouldn't have happened." He felt guilty for the situation his friend was now in.

"It's not your fault," Scorpius assured him. "You told me to get a check-up and I didn't listen. It's my own fault," he said bitter.

"Do you really have a boyfriend you haven't told me about?" Albus asked, curious now.

"No, we just met up a few times to experiment and have a bit of fun," Scorpius down played the whole thing.

"Why didn't you at least tell me you are gay? Or are you bi? You know I don't have a problem with that. James came out years ago." Albus sounded a little hurt.

"I know, but I just wanted to keep it to myself for a while," Scorpius answered evasively.

Madam Pomfrey came back, with Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy following her.

"Hello Scorpius, Mr. Potter," Draco greeted them curtly.

"Hello darling, hello Albus," Astoria said kindly.

"Hello Father, hello Mother."

"Good Morning, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy."

"Why are we here?" Draco wanted to know.

Is something wrong with Scorpius?" Astoria asked worriedly.

"Um, I think I should go now, see you later Scorpius," Albus mumbled and fled from the Hospital Wing.

"Please sit down, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy. Your son is fine at the moment..."

"Then why are we here?" Draco interrupted her impatiently.

"Apparently there was a potions accident a while ago and the effects were only discovered this morning," Madam Pomfrey started her explanation.

"How bad is it?" Astoria asked anxiously.

"As I said before, your son is fine for now. The concoction had no ill effects on his health but it didn't stay without consequences," she continued to explain.

"And what exactly are these consequences that have no ill effect on his health?" Draco asked.

"I believe the concoction accidentally turned into a fertility potion. That alone would have been no cause for concern. The effect would have worn off a few days later but as it seems your son was in a relationship at the time..."

"Who is the girl?" Draco growled.

"Please stop interrupting me, Mr. Malfoy! How am I supposed to explain the situation, if you keep interrupting me?" Madam Pomfrey scolded him angrily.

Meanwhile Scorpius had holed up under his blankets fearfully. He _really _didn't want to be present when his father found out the truth.

"I apologize, Madam Pomfrey, please continue," Draco said.

"Well, to make it short, your son is pregnant," Madam Pomfrey finally dropped the bomb.

Astoria paled dramatically and Draco turned to Scorpius, furious.

"Who?" he growled.

Scorpius shook his head wildly. No way would he tell his parents about his fling with James Potter.

"Scorpius," his father said threateningly.

But Scorpius still refused to reveal James' name.

"Was it Potter? Is that the reason he was here with you?" Draco demanded.

Scorpius heart skipped a beat when his father asked if it was Potter. But when he noticed his father meant Albus and not James he quickly calmed down again.

"No, Albus was only with me because I refused to come here although I wasn't feeling well and he had to force me to get a check-up," Scorpius explained.

"You will tell me immediately who you have been with!" Draco demanded.

"No!"

"Then you are no longer my son!" Draco shouted and stormed out of the room.

Astoria started to sob and went over to Scorpius to hug him.

"He doesn't mean it. I will talk to him. He will come around," she assured him and then followed her husband out of the Hospital Wing.

Scorpius burrowed his head in his pillows and cried. How could it all go so wrong?

_What am I supposed to do now? James can never know about this. No one can. But I need help. And where am I supposed to live if father has really disowned me?_

In despair, he cried himself to sleep.

When he woke up again, Albus was sitting on a chair at his bedside.

"Hi, how are you?" he asked worriedly.

"I've felt better," he answered, his voice still raw from crying.

"How did your parents react?" Albus inquired.

"Badly. Father disowned me," Scorpius said, his eyes filling with tears again.

"WHAT! Why?!" Albus exclaimed indignantly.

"It was a bit too much for him I suppose and when I refused to tell him the name of...of...the name that was the last straw. Mother promised she would talk to him and that he would come around," Scorpius said and tried not to sob.

"Your mother is right, I'm sure he'll come around eventually," Albus tried to comfort him. "Why did you refuse to tell him the name of the other father anyway?"

"Because I don't want anyone to find out, not even _him_, especially _him_," Scorpius explained.

"So you won't even tell me?" Albus asked.

"No, no one. I intend to keep this secret to the grave," Scorpius said with determination.

"But why?"

"He wouldn't want anything to do with us anyway, he would just be ashamed of us," Scorpius sobbed, no longer able to hold back his tears.

"You can't know that. You could at least try to talk to him?" Albus encouraged him.

"No!"

"Alright, I have to go back to classes now. I'll come back later to bring you your homework, ok?" Albus said.

Scorpius nodded and watched Albus leave the Hospital Wing.

A few minutes later Madam Pomfrey came with lunch that made Scorpius feel queasy again and a potion vial.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Malfoy. Take this potion it will help with your morning sickness. I will give you some of them to take with you when you leave the Hospital Wing.

Scorpius took the potion and instantly felt better.

"Now eat and then we will talk. We need to go over some details," she continued.

"Yes, Madam Pomfrey," Scorpius answered and started to eat.

When Scorpius had finished eating Madam Pomfrey came back, vanished the tray and sat down on a chair next to Scorpius' bed.

"Have you thought about if you want to keep the child or not?" she came straight to the point.

"If I keep it, will I have to leave Hogwarts?" Scorpius asked fearfully.

"No, I'm sure we will find a solution. But what kind of solution depends on Professor McGonagall and the Board of Governors," she explained.

"Then I'd like to keep it but I don't know if I will be able to manage. As you've probably noticed, my father has disowned me and now I don't know who I can ask for help," Scorpius said distraught.

"Do you have no other relatives that would take you in?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"Just Aunt Daphne and Uncle Blaise – Lucas' parents – and Teddy, I mean Professor Lupin," Scorpius said.

"There you already have two possibilities," Madam Pomfrey stated in a chipper voice.

"You will also need a midwitch, when you have the child. I can do your check-ups during the pregnancy but I'm not a trained midwitch. We will need to find you one," she went on explaining.

"Do you know one, Madam Pomfrey?" Scorpius asked nervously.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy. As luck will have it, Madam Lupin has the necessary training. Shall I ask Professor and Madam Lupin to come here?" she suggested.

Scorpius thought the idea over and couldn't think of a better solution, so he agreed. Madam Pomfrey would ask Victoire and Teddy for help.


	12. Chapter 12

Summer Fling

**Chapter 12**

Scorpius was extremely nervous. In a few minutes Teddy and Victoire would come to talk to him. How would they react? Would they really want to take care of him? After all they became parents only a few days ago themselves. Surely they wouldn't have the time to care for him, too.

"Hello Scorpius", a voice pulled him from his dark thoughts.

He looked up and saw Teddy and Victoire, who was carrying little Vénus in her arms, entering the Hospital Wing.

"Madam Pomfrey said you could use some support", Teddy continued.

Hello Teddy, hello Victoire. I'm sorry to bother you with my problems, especially now," Scorpius apologized.

"Nonsense, you aren't bothering us. I'm glad to help my little cousin however I can," Teddy dismissed his apology.

"Hello Scorpius, may I introduce your new cousin? This is our little Vénus. Do you want to hold her?" Victoire asked.

Scorpius smiled, still a little unsure, and took the baby girl from her arms.

"Hello Vénus," he greeted her quietly.

"So, what's the problem?" Teddy asked.

"What has Madam Pomfrey already told you?" Scorpius asked carefully.

"Not much, just that you will need a bit of help in the next few months and your parents are currently out of the question," Victoire answered. "That's all she could tell us because of the medical confidentiality all healers are bound to.

Scorpius nodded and thought about how best to explain his predicament. Fortunately he was saved by Madam Pomfrey stepping out of her office.

"Ah, you're already there. Mr. Malfoy, do you want to do the honours or shall I?" she inquired.

"Would you please, Madam Pomfrey?" Scorpius asked quietly.

"Alright. We should go to my office for this conversation", she said to Teddy and Victoire.

Teddy and Victoire followed her into her office, leaving Scorpius behind with the still sleeping Vénus in his arms. She looked pretty cute with her white romper and the pink hair that was starting to curl. He looked at the baby in his arms and wondered if that was what his future looked like.

Half an hour later Victoire and Teddy stepped out of the office again together with Madam Pomfrey. Fortunately Vénus had slept the whole time through and hadn't noticed her parents' absence.

"We would like to invite you to our home during the summer holidays if you still aren't welcome at your parents' by then," Teddy offered. "You are always welcome in our home," they assured him.

"And I'd love to be your midwitch and take care of you during your pregnancy. I was actually afraid I would be bored to death after a few months as housewife," Victoire added.

"Thank you, that's very generous of you," Scorpius thanked them with tears in his eyes. "I don't know how to thank you."

"You don't need to thank us, we are happy to help you but if you really want to thank us you could babysit Vénus now and then," Teddy joked slightly.

Scorpius finally managed to pull himself together and smiled thankfully at Teddy and Victoire. He was glad he had still family he could count on.

"Now please excuse me, I have an axe to grind with Albus. I never thought my little brother could be so irresponsible as to secretly brew experimental potions in the dorms," he said and hurried out of the Hospital Wing.

Scorpius sympathy for Albus was limited.

Victoire stayed a while longer to answer some of his questions and only left when her daughter woke up and demanded her attention.

In Teddy's office Albus got a telling-off for being so irresponsible as to brew potions in a dorm.

"It's mainly your fault your best friend is in this predicament now. Are you aware of that?" Teddy asked angrily.

"Yes, I know I screwed up," Albus said contritely.

"Good. I want you to promise me to not brew anymore potions in the dorms. If you want to brew potions in your free time in the future, you will ask Professor Moon for a suitable place," Teddy demanded.

"Yes, Teddy," Albus answered.

"And you will have a week of detention with me. Oh and 100 points from Slytherin. You were lucky the potion wasn't more dangerous," Teddy announced.

Albus just nodded resignedly. He knew he had messed up big time and got Scorpius into some serious trouble.

"I expect you to help Scorpius as much as you can. He will need all the help he can get," Teddy added. "You can go now."

After Teddy's telling-off, Albus went back to the Hospital Wing to bring Scorpius his homework as promised.

"Hey Scor," Albus said, still a little down.

"Hey Al, I see you've really brought me my homework. I wouldn't have minded if you had forgotten, you know?" Scorpius joked. Since his talk with Teddy and Victoire he had been in a better mood.

"Yes, but the teachers would. Teddy is really angry with me by the way. I've got detention for a week and he took 100 points from Slytherin," Albus told him.

"I'm sorry you've got so much trouble because of me," Scorpius said contritely.

"Rubbish! He's right. It's my fault you are in the Hospital Wing right now. I deserved everything I got," Albus admitted.

"Oh, and Lucas is worried about you. I didn't tell him why you are here but I had to tell him at least where you are. He will probably come and visit you soon," Albus warned him.

"Thanks for the heads-up," Scorpius said.

"What are you going to tell him? The truth?" Albus asked curiously.

"No, I will think of something else I can tell him and the rest of the school. Some drawn-out but harmless illness," Scorpius decided.

"Why drawn-out?" Albus inquired.

"Because I will need an excuse for not being allowed to play Quidditch, brew certain potions and the like," Scorpius explained.

"Oh, that didn't even occur to me," Albus said sheepishly.

"You will need to find a new chaser as soon as possible. The game against Ravenclaw is only two weeks away," Scorpius reminded him.

"You are right. Damn, Scorpius, our team will miss you," Albus admitted.

"You can't imagine how much I will miss playing Quidditch," Scorpius replied.

"When do you get out of here?" Albus changed the subject.

"If I'm lucky, this evening. I'm not really ill after all," Scorpius said.

"Good, then see you later, I hope," Albus took his leave and went to dinner.

As expected Madam Pomfrey discharged him an hour later. She had agreed to support his cover story of an illness to hide his pregnancy and proposed a respiratory illness.

He went to the Slytherin common room where he found Albus and Lucas doing homework. He sat down next to them and they explained to him the subject matter he had missed. They stayed in the common room, after they had finished their homework, for a while longer to catch up with each other.

"Why were you in the Hospital Wing?" Lucas asked.

"Because Albus thought he needed to drag me there," Scorpius joked.

"Did Madam Pomfry find anything?" Lucas inquired.

"Yes, apparently I have a respiratory illness so she has forbidden me to play Quidditch and brew certain potions," Scorpius explained peevishly.

"You aren't allowed to play Quidditch anymore?!" Lucas exclaimed aghast.

"Unfortunately yes," Scorpius confirmed. "Albus, do you already have a substitute in mind?"

"Yes," Albus sighed. "I've looked through my notes from the tryouts and Mai Corner seemed best. I haven't asked her yet, I wanted to talk to the team first. We are meeting tomorrow at eight a.m. on the Quidditch pitch."

"Am I supposed to come, too?" Scorpius asked.

"I leave that up to you, Scor," Albus replied.

The next day at eight in the morning the Slytherin Quidditch team was sitting in their locker room for an emergency meeting. Albus was standing in front of his team to explain the situation. Scorpius wasn't there – he hadn't been able to get out of bed as so often these days.

"I'm sorry I dragged you from your beds so early in the morning but we have a serious problem. Scorpius won't be able to play for the rest of the year – Madam Pomfrey's orders. That means we are a chaser short and the next game is in two weeks already. We will need to practice hard to train our new chaser. I propose Mai Corner as Scorpius substitute does anyone have a problem with that?"

Albus observed the faces of his teammates and found no objections. Most of them had groaned at the thought of extra practice but hadn't complained. After all they wanted to win the match despite the unexpected loss of Scorpius. Albus nodded pleased and allowed his team to go to breakfast.

Albus himself went back to the common room to intercept Mai and offer her the chaser position. It was half past eight when she finally came out of the girls dorms. He stepped in front of her.

"Hey Corner, could I talk to you for a moment?" he asked her.

"Ok Potter, what's up?" she agreed.

"Are you still interested in a spot on the Quidditch team?" he started.

"Yeah sure, but there is no open position anymore, is there?" she asked confused.

"There is. Scorpius won't be able to play for the rest of the year and now we are a chaser short. If you want, the position is yours," he offered.

"Really? You really want me as chaser?" she asked, beaming with happiness and excitement.

"Yes, practice is tomorrow afternoon at five o'clock, don't be late," he told her and went to breakfast.

Lucas and Scorpius were already there, waiting for him at the Great Hall. Scorpius was able to eat normally again thanks to the potion Madam Pomfrey had given him. He told Lucas it was a potion for breathing difficulties. Together they went to class.

In the afternoon Scorpius was called to the headmistress. He could already guess what she wanted to talk about. Despite Madam Pomfrey's assurances he was worried he would have to leave the school. Albus decided to accompany him for moral support.

When they arrived in front of the Gargoyle that guarded the entrance to the headmistress' office, Scorpius said the password and they stepped onto the winding staircase together. They arrived in front of the office door and Scorpius knocked.

"Enter," Professor McGonagall called and they opened the door.

"Mr. Potter, what are you doing here? I don't recall requesting your presence," McGonagall wondered.

"I'm here as moral support for Scorpius, please don't mind me," Albus explained.

"Mr. Malfoy, is that true? Do you wish for Mr. Potter to be here?" she asked Scorpius who nodded.

"Alright, then let's get straight to the point. Madam Pomfrey told me you are expecting. You don't need to worry about being expelled but there are things we need to discuss. I expect you still want to do your N.E.W.T.s here at Hogwarts?" she inquired.

"Yes, Professor," Scorpius answered.

Do you intend to bring your child with you?" she asked.

"Would that be possible, Professor?" Scorpius replied.

"Yes, that would be possible. I already talked with Madam Lupin and she would be willing to take care of your child while you are in class. We can hash out the details later. More importantly we need to decide what to do with you the rest of this school year. Is there something from your side we should take into consideration?"

"Could you please tell as few people as possible of my...condition? I'd like to keep it as secret as possible," Scorpius asked.

"Understandable. I will of course need to inform the rest of the staff but you can be assured of their discretion. I'm not sure though if this will work for the next two years. It will attract attention when you stop sleeping in your dormitory," Professor McGonagall stated.

"I will get my own room?" Scorpius inquired.

"Of course. You can't stay in your dormitory with an infant. It would wake the entire House with its screaming during the night," the Headmistress explained indignantly.

"Alright, this would be all for now, I think. You will stay in your dormitory until the end of the school year. Madam Pomfrey and Madam Lupin will take care of your well-being. I will inform the staff and ask for their discretion. And you will take care of yourself from now on, please," she summarized.

"Yes, thank you, Professor McGonagall," Scorpius said relieved.

"Good bye Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Potter," she said.

"Good bye Professor," Scorpius and Albus replied and left the office.

"That went well, didn't it?" Albus commented.

"Yes, better than I thought it would," Scorpius agreed.

"Are you sure you will manage to keep it a secret?" Albus asked doubtfully.

"Yes, I have to. I won't be the laughing stock of the school," Scorpius said with determination.


	13. Chapter 13

Summer Fling

**Chapter 13**

Scorpius didn't have any problems hiding his pregnancy for the next few weeks but when April came his stomach started to bulge slightly and became harder to hide, so he went to Madam Pomfrey to ask her if there was a charm to hide it.

"Madam Pomfrey?" he called silently as he stepped into the Hospital Wing.

"Good Morning, Mr. Malfoy. Is something wrong?" she asked worriedly.

"No, I just wanted to ask if there is a charm to hide my stomach. The robes alone can't hide it any longer and I don't wear them all the time anyway," he explained his problem.

"Yes, such a charm exists. I can teach it to you but you have to be careful. The charm only prevents the eye from seeing what is actually there, if someone touches your stomach, they will feel the difference," she warned him.

Scorpius nodded in understanding. "How does the charm work?" he inquired.

"You draw a circle with your wand around the body part you want to hide, imagine how you want it to look like for others and say 'Obscuro'", she explained and demonstrated it on a scar on her arm.

Scorpius nodded again and also tried it on a scar on his hand. It worked and Madam Pomfrey allowed him to try it on his stomach. He cast the charm and the bulge of his stomach seemed to vanish like it had never been there.

"How long will the charm last?" Scorpius asked.

"It will last for 24 hours. You will need to recast it every morning," she told him.

"And the charm has no negative side effects?" Scorpius asked to be on the safe side.

"No, it's just an illusion. It doesn't change your body, just how other people perceive it," she explained to him. "The charm is completely safe as long as you cast it right," she assured him.

"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey, I don't know what I would do without you," Scorpius thanked her.

"You're welcome, Mr. Malfoy. Now run along to breakfast! You need all the nutrients you can get," she admonished him.

"Yes, I'm already gone. Bye Madam Pomfrey!" he called as he hurried out of the Hospital Wing. He didn't dare to run anymore.

The next two months passed without any major problems. No one noticed Scorpius growing stomach or his equally growing appetite. It was their O.W.L year and everyone was too occupied with learning to notice his peculiarities. Albus was a great help as well. It was thanks to him Lucas didn't grow suspicious. Oh and of course thanks to Rose. Lucas and Rose had finally gotten together after the Valentine's Day incident and were now inseparable.

It was June, Scorpius was by now six months pregnant and their O.W.L. exams were just around the corner. For two weeks they would be tested in all their subjects. Theoretical exams would take place in the morning and practical exams in the afternoon. In potions Scorpius was only allowed to do the theoretical exam, the practical he would have to wait for until next year.

Their first exam on Monday was Transfiguration, followed by Charms on Tuesday, Defence on Wednesday, Herbology on Thursday and Ancient Runes on Friday. The weekend was only a short reprieve before the exams continued the next Monday with Potions, followed by Arythmancy on Tuesday, Astronomy and Muggle Studies – only for Rose and Scorpius – on Wednesday, History of Magic on Thursday and finally Care of Magical Creatures – although only for Albus – on Friday.

After they had finished their OWLs there was still one week of school left and into this week fell Scorpius 16th birthday. Albus, Seline, Lucas, Rose and Scorpius celebrated it together outside in the sunshine by the lake. They laughed and joked together glad their exams were finally over. Scorpius got a lot of presents and to his surprise he even got a present from his parents who hadn't contacted him in months.

At the end of the school year Scorpius went home with his friends with the Hogwarts Express as usual, arriving at Kings Cross, where he wasn't picked up by his parents but by Teddy, Victoire and Vénus instead.

Scorpius went to say good bye to his friends.

"Good bye, have a nice holiday, I will write to you," he said to Lucas, Seline and Rose.

"You will come visit me every now and then, won't you, Al?" he asked Albus quietly.

"Of course I will come and visit you. You won't get rid of me so easily," Albus assured him.

"Where are your parents, Scorpius?" Lucas suddenly asked.

"Oh, they are probably just late, I'm sure they will be here soon," Scorpius lied.

"My parents want to leave, see you soon Scor," Albus bid his farewell.

"Ok, see you, Al," Scorpius replied.

During the school year Teddy and Victoire lived at Hogwarts but during the holidays they lived in London, more exactly at 12 Grimmauld Place. Harry had completely renovated the old house and given it to them as a wedding present. And that's where they took Scorpius.

Scorpius got a room on the first floor with his own bathroom. It was comfortable, furnished with a four poster bed made of oak with green curtains, a large wardrobe, a desk, a small bookshelf and a chest for his personal belongings. The walls were a cream-colour and the floor was wooden, covered in green rugs.

Scorpius immediately flopped down on the soft bed and only woke up when Teddy called him down for dinner.

In the beginning he felt a little uncomfortable in the unfamiliar surroundings but Teddy and Victoire soon made him feel at home. He spent a lot of time with them and liked to take care of the by now five month old Vénus. Albus visited at least once a week and would probably have come even more often if it hadn't risen the suspicion of his family.

He was sitting in the living room on the sofa, reading a book about Astronomy searching for a fitting name for his child, when Albus flooed in once again.

"Hi Scor, what are you reading?" he asked as soon as he had patted the soot off of his clothes.

"A book about Astronomy. I'm looking for a name for the little one," he answered.

"You still don't want to know if it's a boy or a girl?" Albus asked.

"No, I want it to be a surprise," Scorpius insisted like he always did when Albus asked about it.

"And you want to follow tradition and name it after a constellation or a star?" Albus inquired.

"Yes, why not?" Scorpius replied.

"Any ideas already? Did you find anything you like?" Albus asked curiously.

"No, not yet," Scorpius admitted.

"Will you come to my birthday?" Albus changed the topic abruptly.

"I don't know. I don't think that's a good idea," Scorpius said doubtfully.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Albus sighed. "But it will be weird without you there. You are one of my best friends and you've always been there," he said.

"Yes, but it can't be helped. Just say I'm sick," Scorpius suggested.

"Ok," Albus agreed.

Suddenly the fire turned green and a second person stumbled out of the fireplace. Scorpius quickly tried to conceal his bulging stomach but it was the holidays and he wasn't allowed to perform magic and there were no blankets around to cover himself up. It was too late, the person looked up and Scorpius heart sank when he recognised James. Albus had positioned himself protectively in front of Scorpius but it made no difference.

"What are you doing here, James?" Albus growled at his brother.

"I'm allowed to visit our big brother, aren't I? You are here awfully often nowadays, any specific reason why?" James asked coolly.

Only now he took a good look at Scorpius and froze. His eyes went wide and he visibly paled.

"H-h-how? M-malfoy? W-what is going on?" he stuttered.

Scorpius tried to hole up on the sofa and Albus looked amusedly and a little confused back and forth between them. Since Scorpius obviously had no intention to talk, Albus took it upon himself to explain a few things to his brother.

"Scorpius is living here during the holidays," he answered the easiest question first.

James was still staring at Scorpius and seemed to have lost his ability to speak. "W-what's that?" he finally managed to get out and pointed at Scorpius bulging stomach.

"First you have to promise not to tell anyone," Albus insisted. He knew how important it was to Scorpius for no one to find out about his pregnancy even if he didn't know why.

"Ok, I promise, now tell me what for Merlin's sake is going on here," James said, his voice still shaking.

"Sit down, it's a long story," Albus told him.

James did as he was told and sat down in an armchair. He still looked pretty shocked. Scorpius was still trying to make himself disappear without success.

"As you probably know, a few months ago Fred asked me to invent that potion for him. One of my experiments went wrong and Scorpius got splashed with the botched potion," Albus started to explain.

"About a month later we found out that Scorpius...," suddenly Scorpius came back to live and covered Albus' mouth with his hand to shut him up. Albus looked at him confused.

James looked from Scorpius' stomach, to his face and back again.

"M-malfoy," he said weakly. "Please tell me it's not what it looks like."

"What does it look like?" Scorpius asked playing dumb.

"If you were a woman I would say you're pregnant but that's impossible, right?" James said, sounding near desperate.

Albus looked even more confused now. Why did James care so much? He could understand Scorpius' reaction but James? No, his violent reaction didn't make any sense at all.

Scorpius couldn't look James in the eye. He couldn't lie to him now but he couldn't tell him the truth either. It wasn't necessary though since the evidence was plain as day for him to see.

"Oh Merlin, you _are_ pregnant!" James exclaimed when it finally sunk in. Then he suddenly paled dramatically and promptly fainted.

Scorpius winced and Albus eyes widened. Then he started to call for Victoire who was in the kitchen and went over to James to see if he could wake him up.

Victoire came into the room and lingered for a moment in the doorway in confusion. She quickly pulled herself together though and went over to the unconscious James to examine him.

When Victoire had finished her examination, James was already coming around. He sat up carefully and searched for Scorpius' eyes.

"Is it true?" he simply asked.

Both knew what he was really asking. He wanted to know if he was really the father of Scorpius' child. Scorpius nod was nearly imperceptible. James paled again but didn't faint a second time.

"Can we talk?" he wanted to know. "In private?" he added.

Scorpius nodded again and led him up to his room. They left Victoire and Albus behind in the living room, both equally confused.

"What do you think they are talking about?" Albus asked bewildered.

"I've got an idea but it's completely crazy," Victoire replied and shook her head not willing to tell him about her suspicion.

They both sat waiting in the living room, wishing they could listen in on the conversation between James and Scorpius.

Scorpius closed the door to his room behind him and flopped down onto his bed. James stood in the middle of the room, unsure what to do.

"Come on, sit," Scorpius snarled at him.

James quickly sat down on the desk chair he certainly didn't want to anger Scorpius right now.

"So ask!" he snapped at him.

"You are h-having a child?" he asked again to make sure he got it right.

"Yes."

"M-my child?"

"Yes."

"And you weren't going to tell me?" James said now getting angry.

"That's right," Scorpius replied curtly.

"May I ask why?" James forced out through his gritted teeth.

"What would you have done if I had told you, huh?" Scorpius asked furiously.

"I don't know," James admitted.

"I will tell you. You probably would have laughed at me then told the whole school and afterwards you would have dumped me! Not that we were even still together at that point!" Scorpius said now really mad.

"You really think I would do that? Do you really think I'm that cruel?" James asked sadly.

"What else was I supposed to think? That you would jump for joy and buy an engagement ring for me?" Scorpius asked sarcastically.

"Well, no," James conceded, "but I wouldn't have exposed you in front of the whole school and I really would have liked to know I'm going to be a father."

"The father of a child who will never know you or are you going to tell your family that you are having a child with a Malfoy?" Scorpius said acridly.

"What about your family? Why are you here and not with your parents?" James asked.

"My father kicked me out," Scorpius said tonelessly.

"Because you are gay or because you are having a baby?"

"Because I refused to tell him the name of the other father," Scorpius admitted.

That shut James up.

"Admittedly, being gay and pregnant probably played a part as well. Mum promised me he would come around eventually but so far no luck," Scorpius continued.

"When, when are you due?" James asked, nodding towards Scorpius' stomach.

"At the end of September, or the beginning of October," Scorpius replied.

"What about Hogwarts? Are you going back?" James inquired.

"Yes, but I won't go to classes until after the delivery and until after I am completely recovered. Until then Teddy and Albus will tutor me and help me with my homework," Scorpius explained.

"Can I come and visit you more often now?" James asked cautiously, completely out of character for him.

"If you want to. Now that the cat is out of the bag," Scorpius said.

"Thank you. I still need to wrap my head around this but I'm really happy to finally know about it," James said honestly.

"We should go back down. Albus and Victoire are probably wondering what we've got to talk about for so long," Scorpius pointed out to James.

"Do you think they've already connected the dots?" James asked nervously.

"I hope not," Scorpius shuddered. "I don't think I'm up to having that talk with your brother now as well."

Together they went back down to the living room where meanwhile Teddy had joined the other two.


	14. Chapter 14

Summer Fling

**Chapter14**

James and Scorpius stepped together into the living room and all eyes were on them.

"Hi Teddy! Where is my goddaughter?" James asked determined to ignore the elephant in the room.

"Hey James, Vénus is in her room taking her nap but if you are staying I'm sure will get to see her later," Teddy replied.

"James, please explain to me what the hell is going on here? When did you two start talking without getting into a screaming match after two seconds and what are you doing here anyway?!" Albus burst out, not able to hold back any longer.

"May I take a guess?" Victoire asked before James or Scorpius was able to answer.

James and Scorpius exchanged a worried glance. Would everything come out now? Were they ready to face their families?

"It was James' name you refused to tell us, wasn't it, Scorpius?" Victoire guessed.

"Yes, you are right," Scorpius whispered and looked down onto the floor. He couldn't look at Albus. What would his friend think of him now?

"James? Scorpius? You mean James and Scorpius?" Albus stuttered, obviously barely able to comprehend the fact that his brother and his best friend had been together without his knowledge.

"When? How long? Are you still...?" he asked after he had slightly recovered from the shock.

"During the last summer holidays. Nearly six months. No, we haven't been for a long while now," James answered him.

"So let me get this straight," Teddy said. "James and Scorpius started some sort of relationship during the last summer holidays that lasted nearly six months but kept it a secret from everyone. Then they broke up and now Scorpius is pregnant with James' child although James didn't know because Scorpius didn't tell him?"

"Yep, that about sums it up," James concurred.

"Well then good luck explaining that to Harry and Draco," Teddy said, shaking his head.

Suddenly Albus started to laugh. The whole situation was completely unbelievable and to imagine his father's and Draco's reactions to it was simply too much. He needed a quite some time to calm down again.

"And really no one knew about it?" Victoire asked in disbelieve.

"Well, Fred found out but only after we had already ended it," James admitted.

"Lucas, too. Because of Fred's Valentine's Day prank," Scorpius explained.

"Hold on, that shouldn't even have worked if you weren't together anymore at that point," Albus said confused.

James and Scorpius kept quiet too embarrassed to say anything.

"Unless they still liked each other and broke up for some other reason," Teddy remarked and looked questioningly at the two boys.

"What are you going to do now?" Victoire asked the most important question at the moment.

"The same as before," Scorpius said and shrugged.

"I still need to wrap my head around this but Scorpius allowed me to visit him now and then," James explained.

"Alright, I suggest we sleep on it and continue this conversation on another day," Teddy proposed.

They all nodded in agreement and changed the topic.

"So, how is my goddaughter?" James asked.

"She's fine. She has finally started to sleep through the night," Teddy told them obviously relieved the number of sleepless nights had decreased.

"And she's trying to stick her feet into her mouth now but without success so far. And she's able to roll over onto her stomach on her own now," Victoire added.

The proud parents were interrupted by their screaming daughter.

"Ah, she's woken up from her nap. Do you want to go fetch her?" Teddy asked James.

James nodded and went upstairs to Vénus' room. Vénus was lying in her crib, crying but stopped as soon as James picked her up. She looked at James and her blond hair turned black. Her eyes though stayed as they were – one blue and the other grey. James smiled at her.

"Hello Vénus, did you sleep well?" he asked her while he carried her back into the living room to the others.

When Vénus saw her mother she immediately held her arms out for her and changed her hair back to blond. Victoire laughed and took her daughter from James.

"She probably needs a change," she said and grimaced with pain as Vénus grabbed and tugged on her long blond hair. "I'll be back in a minute," she said and tried to free her hair from the little girl's grasp. "Unless you want to do the honours, James?" she asked innocently.

"No thanks, I think I'll pass," James replied and grimaced in disgust.

Victoire left the room with Vénus and an uncomfortable silence fell around the four young men. Scorpius was sitting on the sofa again, Albus next to him while Teddy and James were standing in the middle of the room. James shifted from one foot to the other, unsure what to do or say.

"Do you know what you want to do after Hogwarts, yet, James?" Teddy broke the uncomfortable silence.

"No, not yet. I wanted to become an auror but that's not going to happen because I didn't get into the N.E.W.T. potions class," James explained.

"And there's nothing else you would like to do?" Teddy asked.

"Well, I'd like to play Quidditch professionally but that's every little boy's dream and hardly anyone really makes it. I don't want to rely on that yet. I want to at least have a plan B," James confided.

"Yes, it's always good to have a plan B. It's not easy to become a professional Quidditch player. First you need to find a team and when you get that far there's always the possibility of sustaining serious injuries," Teddy agreed.

Before silence could fall again, Victoire came back with Vénus and handed her over to James.

"Now your Uncle James can play with you," she said.

Vénus squealed in delight and changed her hair to black again, like James'. James smiled proudly at his little goddaughter and started to tickle her to make her squeal even more.

"So, what shall we play?" James asked her.

James spent the next two hours playing with Vénus. Over and over again it reminded him of his own child he would be playing with in only a few months. He still couldn't quite believe he would soon be a father himself. He just couldn't imagine it.

After two hours of entertaining Vénus, she became crotchety and Victoire announced it was time for her afternoon snack. She mashed an apple and zwieback and gave it to James so he could feed Vénus. James sat his goddaughter into her high chair, took a spoon and started to feed her without complain but it proofed more difficult than he had anticipated. In the end Vénus had eaten only half of it the other half decorated her face and her and James' clothes.

"Ugh, I think we need to go change and wash up," James said to Vénus. He took a facecloth and started to wash her face and hands. Then he took her upstairs and changed her romper. Now clean again he handed her over to her father.

"Hey Teddy, can I borrow some clothes from you? Our little princess unfortunately decorated mine with her snack," James asked.

"Sure. Wait a moment I'll fetch something for you," Teddy said and went to retrieve one of his trousers and a T-shirt.

"Thanks," James said as Teddy gave him an old pair of jeans and a red T-shirt and went into the bathroom to change. When he came back out Teddy, Victoire, Vénus, Albus and Scorpius were nowhere to be seen. He flooed home completely exhausted.

Albus and Scorpius had retreated into Scorpius' room while James had played with Vénus. Scorpius couldn't bear to watch James playing with his goddaughter any longer. James was so good with the little girl and Scorpius felt bad for keeping their child a secret from him for so long. It frightened him how much he hoped to see James play with their child like this one day. He didn't dare hope James would openly claim the child as his. He still feared he would deny every connection to them.

Albus wanted to ask Scorpius a thousand questions but he knew this wasn't the time. So he soon took his leave and flooed back home to his parents who were completely clueless that they would become grandparents very, very soon. _I wonder how James will explain that, _Albus thought. _In any case, I want to see their faces when he does._

"Where have you been all day?" Ginny asked her oldest son at dinner.

"At Teddy's," James answered honestly.

"Oh, how is little Vénus? I haven't seen her in ages," Ginny gushed.

"Mum, you've seen her only last weekend," Albus reminded her.

"So what? Babies grow up so fast," she defended herself. "Look at you, it feels like only yesterday I was holding you in my arms and now you are nearly all grown up."

James and Albus rolled their eyes but wisely kept their mouths shut.

"I hope your mother doesn't get the bright idea to want grandchildren of her own now," Harry murmured quietly to his sons, so Ginny wouldn't hear him.

James, who had been drinking, choked and started to cough violently. Albus also nearly choked and quickly slapped him on the back. Ginny and Harry looked at them curiously.

"What happened?" Lily asked straight out.

"Nothing, nothing. I just choked," James said quickly when he could breathe again.

His parents still looked at him funny but knew questioning him would be no use. Dinner went normally after that and as soon as it was over James retreated to his room. He desperately needed time to think.

Like during the last summer holidays he burrowed his head in his pillows to think in peace. Scorpius was pregnant – a fact he couldn't deny. With his child – also a fact he couldn't simply dismiss. He knew he was the only one Scorpius had ever slept with. Now the question was: should he confess everything to his parents or turn his back on Scorpius and his child?

He was scared to tell his parents but he couldn't just abandon his former lover and his child. It didn't sit right with his Gryffindor pride. His parents always told him how important family was and to never abandon family or friends in time of need. Yes, his parents would probably be angry at him but they would be even angrier if they ever found out he had abandoned his child and Scorpius.

So it was decided. He would confess to his parents they were about to become grandparents at the relatively young age of 40 and 41. _Oh joy_, he thought sardonically.

There was a knock on his door. Reluctantly he got up and opened the door to see who it was. It was Albus.

"Can I come in?" he asked.

James sighed and stepped aside. "I suppose you want to talk about Malfoy?"

"Yes. Why are you still calling him Malfoy anyway?"

"Old habits die hard." James shrugged.

"Don't you think it's time to get rid of that habit?" Albus hissed.

"I'll try, alright?" James replied.

"Ok. Now tell me how you got the crackbrained idea to have a fling with my best mate who you supposedly hate," Albus demanded.

James sheepishly shifted around on his bed he was sitting on.

"See Al, it's like this," he stuttered. "Last summer, when M-Scorpius was here, I noticed how good he looked and apparently he liked what he saw, too when he saw me in only a towel in the hall. So I thought I would have a bit of fun with him."

At that point Albus whacked James over the head.

"Ow, Al!" James complained.

"You deserved it and you know it," Albus replied remorseless.

"Alright, alright," James said.

"So you sneaked around the house to meet up in secret?" Albus asked.

"Yes," James confirmed.

"And then?" Albus inquired.

"We continued to secretly meet up at Hogwarts. That wasn't really part of the plan but we just couldn't stop. We continued to meet until after the Christmas holidays. We met up one last time after the holidays and that was the end of it," James concluded.

"Why did you end it?" Albus asked.

"Because it wasn't anything serious," James answered quickly.

"Don't lie to me, James," Albus menaced.

"Ok, because I started to like him and I knew he can't stand me," James admitted quietly. "I didn't want him to find out how much I had come to like him."

"You are an idiot, Jamie! You are both idiots! Do you really think he would have slept with you if he couldn't stand you? That he would meet up with you for such a long time in secret if it hadn't meant anything to him? That he would have risked so much for it?" Albus exclaimed exasperatedly.

"Well, no, I thought, I mean," James stuttered. "I thought he wanted to end it because the risk became too much for him."

"You are an idiot!" Albus repeated. "I just hope you are Gryffindor enough to lie in the bed you made for yourself."

"What's that supposed to mean?" James asked confusedly.

"It means I will personally hex you if you leave Scorpius now and don't tell Mum and Dad about your child," Albus growled.

"Of course I won't desert him now! Who do you think I am?" James said indignantly. "I may not be looking forward to tell Mum and Dad but it doesn't mean I won't."

"Good, then we are on the same page," Albus said and left the room.

* * *

**A/N: **Zwieback is a kind of hard bread and usually eaten by small children or when you are sick and can't stomach anything else. It's petty common here in Germany, not sure about other countries though.


	15. Chapter 15

Summer Fling

**Chapter 15**

James woke up the next day and immediately burrowed his head into his pillow again. How did he always manage to get into so much trouble? He seemed to have inherited his father's talent for getting into trouble but this time really took the cake. How the hell was he going to explain this to his parents?

Reluctantly he got out of bed and made his way down to breakfast. Lily and Albus were already sitting at the table, his father had probably already left for work and his mother was making breakfast. He sat down next to his siblings, while his mother put scrambled eggs and toast onto his plate.

"Morning," he mumbled, still sleepy.

He was eating in silence while Albus and Lily were chatting, when an unfamiliar owl flew through the open window. It carried an official looking letter addressed to Albus that obviously contained his O.W.L. results. Slightly nervous Albus took the letter from the owl and opened it.

"What does it say? How many O.W.L.s did you get?" Lily asked him excitedly.

"I don't know yet. Give me some time to read, would you?" Albus complained.

"Now?" Lily asked after she had given him some time to read.

"I only failed History of Magic so I have nine O.W.L.s total. I even got an O in Potions and Arithmancy," he told them relieved.

"Congratulations, Albus. I'm proud of you," Ginny said and hugged her younger son.

"Yeah, congratulations, Al," James said as well.

"Congratulations, Al," Lily chimed in and hugged him, too.

"Thanks," Albus said and beamed.

After breakfast James said goodbye to his mother.

"Bye Mum! I'll be back sometime this evening," he shouted.

"Hold on! Where are you going?" Ginny asked.

"Visiting Fred," James lied.

"Ok, have fun. See you in the evening," Ginny replied and went to her office where she wrote her articles for the Daily Prophet.

James quickly penned a note to Fred.

_Hi Fred!_

_If Mum asks if I'm with you just say yes. Please! I will explain later._

_James_

Then he flooed over to Teddy's like he did the day before. He needed to talk to Scorpius some more.

When James stepped out of the fireplace in the living room of 12 Grimmauld Place, Scorpius was sitting on the sofa reading his astronomy book like the previous day.

"What are you reading?" James asked curiously.

Scorpius startled because he hadn't noticed James' arrival.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," James assured him. "What has you so preoccupied you don't even notice what's going on around you?"

Scorpius wordlessly held his book up for James to read the cover.

"Astronomy? Do you want to continue with it next near?" James asked incredulously.

Scorpius shrugged. "I got an O in Astronomy, so maybe," he replied.

"Really? If you got an O then why are you studying?" James wondered.

"I'm not studying. I'm looking for a name," the blond boy replied.

"What name?" James asked confused.

"A name for my – our - child. It's a Black family tradition to name their children after a star or constellation," Scorpius explained.

"I know, Dad told me about it. I just didn't think you would want to follow the tradition," James said.

"Why wouldn't I?" the pregnant teenager asked disgruntled.

"Admit it, your name is horrible. Do you really want to curse your child with a name like that?" James replied.

Scorpius glared at the raven-haired boy and wanted to throw one of the pillows at him.

"If I want to name my child after a star or a constellation, then I will. I don't care what you think about it, it's still my child," the blonde hissed angrily.

"Ok, ok, calm down." James raised his hands in defence. "But can I have a say in it, too? It's my child as well, you know," he asked carefully.

"Alright, but I definitely want a star or a constellation as name," Scorpius grumbled.

James flopped down next to Scorpius on the sofa and looked at the book.

"Well, what are we looking for? A name for a boy or a girl?" he asked.

"Both, I want it to be a surprise," the blond answered.

"Ok, have you found some names you like, yet?" James inquired.

Scorpius handed him a list.

_Boy: Girl:_

_Antares Carina_

_Aquila Cassiopeia_

_Corvus Hydra_

_Cygnus Libra_

_Perseus Lyra_

"Are you serious?" James asked slightly horrified.

"What? Don't you like them?" Scorpius asked defiantly.

"Well, maybe you could explain to me why you decided on these names?" James asked diplomatically. He didn't want to get on Scorpius bad side again so quickly.

"Ok, well Antares is the brightest star of Scorpius. The others are all constellations. Aquila means eagle, Corvus means raven, Cygnus means swan and Hydra means water snake. Perseus, Cassiopeia, Lyra, Hydra, Carina, Cygnus, Aquila and Corvus are also part of the Greek mythology," the blond told him.

"May I?" James asked and took Scorpius' book from his hands. He skimmed through the book for a while and compiled his own - admittedly short - list.

_Boy: Girl:_

_Leo Carina_

_Phoenix Lea_

"Leo and Lea? That's so typically Gryffindor," Scorpius snorted.

"Well I think Lea is a million times better than Hydra," James replied.

"Alright, it seems we have already decided on a girl's name. If it's a girl we will call her Carina," Scorpius stated.

"Agreed, I should be thankful you don't want to call a son Serpens," James said and rolled his eyes.

"I'm a Slytherin at heart but even I don't want to curse my child with that. Especially if there's a chance he doesn't even get into Slytherin. And with you as his father that's unfortunately a real possibility," Scorpius joked.

"Oh, Hello James. Back again already?" Teddy, who had just come in with Vénus on his arm, remarked.

"Yes, Scorpius and I have a lot we need to talk about," James answered.

"Ah, yes, sorry for interrupting you. If you need me, I'm in the kitchen," the metamorphmagus said and carried his pink haired daughter into the kitchen.

"Alright, what did you want to talk about?" Scorpius asked now uneasy again. The comfortable atmosphere from before was gone.

"Well...," James took a deep breath, "I'm willing to tell my parents about this if you agree. I'm willing to help you with everything as much as I can, if...if that is what you want. I want to be there to see my – our – child grow up but it's up to you if you want me there or not," James said with great difficulty.

Scorpius was speechless. He had expected James to hightail it as soon as he found out about the child. Never in a hundred years would he have expected him to behave so maturely. He wouldn't have put it past him even to try and take the child from him because of his infamous family history. But never would he have thought that James would ask or even worry about his wishes.

"James...," Scorpius started to sob and silently cursed the hormones running amok inside his body. It was everything he had secretly wished for in the last few months, for James and him to care for their child together, for James to help him, to not be alone anymore. If he was completely honest with himself, he just wanted to be with James again.

"Hey, Ma-Scorpius, why are you crying now?" James asked confusedly.

"I-it's just hormones. I-I'm just glad you want to be there for me," the crying boy admitted.

"Alright, it's alright," James said still a little unsure and awkwardly patted Scorpius' back.

Scorpius turned towards him and hid his face in James neck. The raven haired boy was still uncomfortable with this emotional release but didn't dare to push Scorpius away. After a while Scorpius calmed down but stayed snuggled against James.

"When are you going to tell your parents?" he asked quietly.

"I don't know. It's Dad's birthday in a few days and I don't want to ruin it so I think I will wait until after his birthday," James pondered.

"Alright, what about the rest of your family? Will you tell them, too?" Scorpius inquired.

"I don't really have a choice, do I? There are no real secrets in my family," James remarked. "What about yours? Will you tell them who the father of your child is?"

"Maybe I will tell them, if my parents ever contact me again, but not yet. Lucas is the only one – besides Teddy of course – I want to tell. He knows about our...fling anyway, just not about this," Scorpius said and pointed at his stomach.

"Good, then I have a little longer to live," James joked.

"Yes, my father surly won't be happy if he ever finds out," Scorpius agreed and shuddered.

"He will have to deal with it, just like my family. Grandpa won't be happy either and I don't even want to think about Uncle Ron's reaction," James said with a shudder as well.

"What about all the others? I mean, what will happen when we go back to Hogwarts?" Scorpius asked.

"I don't know. Do you really think we could keep it a secret at Hogwarts? Should we even try?" James wondered.

"I don't know how long we can keep it a secret but I want to at least try," the blond said.

"Ok, do you have already talked with McGonagall about it?" James asked.

"Professor McGonagall said I would get my own rooms after the summer holidays and Victoire offered to babysit while we are in class. The other Professors already promised not to reveal anything and they seem to have kept their promise. If we are careful no one will know we have a child together," Scorpius answered.

"Should we tell McGonagall that I'm the father? Do you think she would allow me to move in with you?" James pondered.

"You want to move in with us?" Scorpius repeated befuddled.

"Only if you don't mind of course," James said quickly, his cheeks turning slightly red.

"Of course I don't mind," Scorpius replied, blushing as well.

"Good, now we only need to convince the headmistress," James stated.

Unnoticed by the two boys, Victoire had come into the room and watched the view in front of her from the door. The two boys so different from each other sat together on the sofa snuggled into each other and obviously comfortable in their position. It was an unusual sight.

"Are you staying for lunch, James?" she interrupted their têtê-à-têtê.

James head jerked around sharply when she started to talk and blushed slightly as he noticed how close they were sitting next to each other.

"Um, yeah, if that's alright? I'd like to stay a little longer," James answered.

"Of course, stay as long as you want to. You know we are always happy to have you over," she reminded him kindly.

"Thanks, Vicky," James grinned his usual grin, all traces of insecurity gone.

"Lunch will be in half an hour," she said before she left the room.

James and Scorpius looked at each other hesitantly but neither moved away. So they stayed snuggled together until lunch.

During lunch James and Scorpius were sitting on one side of the table while Teddy and Victoire sat on the opposite side. Vénus was sitting in her highchair at the head of the table between Victoire and James. James and Victoire took turns feeding Vénus so they could eat, too.

"Do you want to be there for Scorpius' check-up today, James?" Victoire asked him.

"Check-up?" James repeated slightly baffled.

"For the baby. Once a month you have a check-up to see if everything is going alright," she explained to him.

"Oh, yes sure, if Scorpius doesn't mind?" he said and looked hopefully at Scorpius.

Scorpius smiled. "I don't mind at all. I'm glad you haven't run out on me yet," he admitted.

"My parents always told me how important family is. I could never run out on you and our child, no matter how unexpected it was," James said.

They didn't notice Teddy and Victoire sharing a smile. It was obvious James and Scorpius still had feelings for each other even if they didn't want to admit it.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed, put this story on their favorites list or follow it!**

**Animefangirl365: **Yes, I'm German.


	16. Chapter 16

Summer Fling

**Chapter 16**

"Are you ready to see your child for the first time?" Victoire asked James.

"See? What do you mean, see?" James sounded confused.

"There is a spell to make the baby in the womb visible, comparable to the ultrasound of the Muggles," she explained for him.

"You mean I can really see it?" James asked excitedly.

"Yes," Victoire laughed. She was glad James was so excited about the baby. Scorpius had grown on her in the last few months and she wanted to see him happy.

Scorpius lay down on the sofa and James stood beside him. Victoire started to wave her wand over Scorpius and over his stomach appeared an image. You could clearly see the arms, legs and the head of the baby you could even hear the heartbeat. While James looked fascinated at the image of his child, Victoire cast a few more spells to give her information on Scorpius' health.

"Wow." The word had slipped out of James' mouth. Only now the reality of it began to sink in, before it had still seemed somehow unreal. Then Scorpius grabbed his hand and placed it on his stomach. Now James could not only see but feel his child kicking. To his embarrassment he could feel tears flooding his eyes but he didn't let them fall.

"Everything seems to be in order with your child as well as with you, Scorpius," Victoire said when she had finished her examination.

"You still don't want to know what you are having?" she made sure.

"No, I want it to be a surprise," he repeated once again.

"Ok, then we are finished for today," she said and vanished the image and the sound of the heartbeat but only after she had taken a picture of it. She copied it and gave one to Scorpius, one to James and one she kept for herself.

James was still admiring the picture of his child, which moved like any other picture in the wizarding world. He couldn't believe it was his child he was looking at. James decided to treasure the picture forever. When he got home, he hid it in the drawer of his bedside table. Not the most original hiding place but normally no one else opened it. But to make sure he put a locking charm on it.

His father's birthday went like every year. Harry refused to make a big deal out of it and only invited close friends and family. Unfortunately for him, they had a rather large family and there always were a lot of people. Teddy and Victoire were there with Vénus as well of course while Scorpius had stayed alone at Grimmauld Place.

All the Weasleys were there and some of Harry's closest friends like the Longbottoms, the Scamanders and the Woods. Since it was a nice, sunny day in July they celebrated outside. Molly had insisted to bake her son-in-law a birthday cake, like every year. Everyone was eating and laughing and having a good time. James felt guilty because Scorpius was all alone at Grimmauld Place when he should have been here with the rest of the family.

"Um, James? Can I talk to you for a moment?" a very nervous Hugo suddenly asked him.

"Sure, what's up?" James replied.

"In private?" Hugo added.

"Ok, follow me."

James curiosity was piqued. He and Hugo didn't talk often. Hugo was nearly four years younger and better friends with Lily than with him. James led his brown-haired cousin into the house and up to his room where he cast some spells to avoid being overheard - even with extendable ears - for good measure.

"So, what's up?" James asked Hugo again.

"Um, well...," Hugo's face went red and he looked down onto the floor in embarrassment. "How did you know you like men instead of women?" he then asked unexpectedly.

"Oh, well, I just noticed I didn't think about girls like the other boys in my dorm, instead I caught myself thinking about other boys. Then there were of course those dreams – I think you know which kind of dreams I mean – but I was completely sure when I had my first crush and later my first kiss. I kissed a girl back then for comparison to make sure and it felt awful," James grinned.

"Oh, ok," Hugo said, his face still a brilliant shade of red.

"May I know why you're asking me this?"

"Well I, well...," Hugo started to stutter.

James looked at him in contemplation. "You have a crush on someone?" he guessed.

"Yes," the younger boy admitted quietly and blushed even more if that was even possible.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. Your secret's safe with me," James assured him. "Will you tell me who it is or do I have to guess?"

"Lysander," Hugo mumbled.

"Lysander, huh? Alright, if you ever need any help or advice, tell me. You can always come to me if you need someone to talk to," James told him. He knew now was not the time to tease him or make some stupid joke.

"Thanks, James," Hugo said and fled from the room.

James followed his younger cousin, silently wishing him luck. He had no idea if the Slytherin liked men or not.

Before he could go back to the birthday party, Fred intercepted him.

"Hey James, are you going to explain to me now why you needed an alibi a few days ago?"

"Alright, come with me," he agreed and went back to his room with Fred following him, again warded against spying.

"I'm listening," Fred grinned.

"Ok, you remember your prank on Valentine's Day?" James asked with a sigh.

"Yeees?" Fred answered questioningly.

"Your prank – or rather its botched predecessor – had some unexpected consequences," James started.

"What consequences?" Fred asked worried.

"Malfoy is pregnant – with my child," James revealed to his cousin. "I just found out a few days ago myself and had to talk to him rather urgently. That's why I needed an alibi."

Fred looked at James in shock. "That's a bad joke, right? You are kidding me!"

"No, unfortunately not. My parents don't know yet, so please don't tell anyone what I just told you," James pleaded.

"Well then, good luck, it was nice knowing you" was Fred's only comment.

"Thanks, I'm sure I will need it," James answered dryly.

The day after Harry's birthday, James plucked up his courage and went into the living room, where his father was sitting and reading The Daily Prophet. His mother was fortunately with Lily at Diagon Alley.

_Come on, James you are a Gryffindor! Dad never chopped your head off, no matter what kind of mischief you got into. You can tell him – you have to!_

"Um, Dad? Can we talk?" James asked nervously.

Harry sighed. "What did you do this time, James?" he asked.

"Nothing! I mean nothing bad really and it's not really my fault either," James instantly defended himself.

"Ok James, _what _isn't really your fault?" Harry inquired and wondered if he really wanted to know. He looked at his son with a piercing glance.

"Well, you see, there was this botched potion...," James started.

"But you don't even take Potions anymore," his father interrupted him.

"I didn't say _I _botched the potion, now did I? A-someone else experimented in his dorm with potions and now you are going to be a grandfather. Congratulations!" James had decided to just get it out as fast as possible before his courage left him.

"You – I – WHAT?!" Harry exclaimed, completely shocked.

Albus came into the room, attracted by Harry's shout.

"Oh, did you tell him?" he asked curiously.

"I'm in the process of telling him, so keep out of it," James hissed at him.

"No, I want to see his face when you tell him," Albus whispered back."

"Alright, you were asking for it," James said.

"Please tell me I heard you wrong," Harry pleaded who had finally found his voice again.

"Sorry, Dad, but if you heard you are going to be a grandfather soon, you heard me right," James said apologetically.

"Explain! I want details on how this could even happen. You told us you were gay for Merlin's sake," Harry demanded.

"I am! I told you it was a potions accident. And it wasn't me who secretly experimented with potions! You can thank _Albus _for that," James pointed out.

"Albus? He's involved in this, too?" Harry asked incredulously.

Albus glared angrily at James while James grinned in satisfaction. At least he wasn't the only one in trouble now.

"Yes Dad, I experimented with a potion and it went wrong," Albus admitted subdued. "Teddy already gave me a week worth of detention and deducted 100 points from Slytherin."

"Ok, we will talk about this later. Now tell me how a botched potion makes me a grandfather," their father demanded.

"That was a stupid coincidence. I had a fling with a boy a few months ago and he had been in Albus' room when he experimented with the potion. He got splashed with it and it had an, um, unexpected effect," James explained vaguely.

"And who is this boy, if I may ask?"

James and Albus looked at each other. This was it. Now they would find out just how much Harry had forgiven the Malfoys.

James took a deep breath. "Scorpius Malfoy," he finally dropped the bomb.

"Scorpius? I always thought there was no love lost between you two, James. But that explains at least why your boyfriend was in Albus' dorm," Harry tried to process the information. He took it surprisingly well.

"Does Draco know? When did this even happen?" Harry interrogated them like the auror he was.

"Mr. Malfoy only knows about Scorpius pregnancy but not that he's pregnant with my child. It all happened shortly after the Christmas holidays," James answered. Albus preferred to keep quiet.

"After the Christmas holidays? And why are you only telling me this now?" Harry sounded pissed now.

"Because I didn't know until a few days ago!" James defended himself.

"You didn't know? Why?" Harry asked, confused.

"Albus and Scorpius didn't tell anyone about the botched potion at first, so Albus wouldn't get into trouble and because the potion seemed harmless. Shortly after we ended our fling and he didn't dare to tell me. A few days ago I incidentally bumped into him at Teddy's and he had to tell me," James explained.

"Ok, now on to you, Albus," Harry addressed his green-eyed son.

Albus swallowed. Now it was his turn and he was sure to get long lecture. His father didn't get angry often but when he did you better took cover.

"Did you know what your potion did to Scorpius?" Harry asked.

"Yes, I had to literally drag him to the Hospital Wing to even get him examined. I was there when Madam Pomfrey told him," Albus confessed.

"And you didn't tell anyone?" his father inquired.

"No, he made me promise not to tell anyone. Beside me, only Madam Pomfrey, Professor McGonagall and the rest of the staff – including Teddy – and Victoire know about it. They all promised not to reveal anything to anyone about this."

"Did you know about James, too?" Harry asked.

"No, I didn't know James was the father. Scorpius refused to tell anyone his name. I only know now because I was there when James found out," Albus answered.

Harry dropped his auror-mask with a sigh and let his head fall into his hands. What had his sons gotten into now? They seemed to attract trouble as much as he did. He could already hear Ginny's screams. Maybe she would scream in delight instead of anger at the thought of becoming a grandmother?

"We will talk about your punishment later, Albus. I'm sure your mother would like to have some input," Harry stated.

"James, I can hardly punish you for such a freak accident but I think the circumstances are punishment enough for you," Harry now addressed his eldest son.

"When do we tell your mother?" He then asked.

"When do you tell me what?" Ginny's voice suddenly came from the entry to the living room.

Harry, James and Albus were so engrossed in their conversation they hadn't heard Ginny and Lily arriving home. The three looked at each other nervously. Neither of them wanted to be the one to tell Ginny. They didn't know how she would react.

"Sit down, Ginny. This will take some time to explain," Harry said finally.

"Ok, what have your sons done this time?" his wife asked.

"Our sons, Ginny honey," Harry reminded her.

"What do you have to tell me?" she asked her sons directly now.

She knew the facial expressions of her three men and knew it had to be something serious. Inwardly she prepared herself for the worst even if she wasn't sure what the worst would actually be.


	17. Chapter 17

Summer Fling

**Chapter 17**

The whole Potter family sat in the living room, Harry in an armchair, Albus and James on one couch and Ginny and Lily on another one. Lily was curious what her older brothers had gotten into this time. They rarely caused trouble together except when they were fighting.

"Now, would please one of you explain to me what exactly you did," Ginny demanded impatiently.

"Apparently we are going to be grandparents," Harry broke it to her. He, too, thought quick and easy would do the trick.

"ALBUS SEVERUS POTTER!" Ginny started shouting.

"IT WASN'T ME!" Albus instantly answered back.

"But you aren't completely innocent either," James interjected.

"Harry?" Ginny was now completely at a loss. Lily wasn't faring much better.

So Harry explained to her what his sons had told him only a few minutes ago. He kept Malfoy's name for last.

"Oh, who is the poor boy? Do I know him?" Ginny asked.

"Yes, you know him, Mum. He's been here a few times," Albus said.

"Who? Who is it? You have to invite him, James. He's family now after all," she gushed.

"Ginny darling," Harry said cautiously. "It's Scorpius."

"Malfoy?" Ginny asked dumbfounded. "But, but he and James loath each other just like you and Draco did in the past," she then said.

"Apparently that has changed," Harry answered amusedly.

"Dad and Ron will flip out when they find out the Malfoy's are part of the family now," she stated.

She didn't want to think of Draco Malfoy as family but she knew Scorpius well enough by now to know he was nothing like his father. To tell the truth, she liked Scorpius and had no problems accepting him into her family.

"Um, you don't mind he's a Malfoy?" James prodded.

"No James, unlike you I always thought Scorpius was a nice boy. Even though I can't really stand his father or grandfather, I have nothing against Scorpius," she assured him.

"I'm going to be an aunt! That's so cool!" Lily exclaimed who had kept quiet until now.

"And I had hoped we would have some more time. Did you have to make me a grandfather at 42 already?" Harry complained only partly joking.

"Sorry Dad, it was an accident," Albus apologized.

"Ah yes, now to you Albus Severus Potter! How could you be so careless as to experiment with poitions without supervision in your dorm?! You could have seriously hurt yourself and others!" Ginny started to berate him. "POTIONS ARE NOT HARMLESS TOYS!"

Albus had slumped down more and more during his mother's tirade and ducked his head. He dreaded what kind of punishment his mother would come up with.

"Since you seem to like brewing potions for useless pranks, you will help your Uncle George in his shop for the rest of the holidays – without payment – and when Scorpius has had his baby, you will babysit everyday for two months," she handed out his punishment.

"Lily, could you please leave us alone for a moment? We would like to talk to James alone," Harry asked his daughter.

"Fine," Lily grumbled and followed Albus out of the room.

"James, exactly what kind of relationship do you and Scorpius have?" Harry asked when the three of them were alone.

"I don't know," James answered honestly.

"What are you going to do now? Have you talked about it?" Ginny asked.

"Yes, a little. I promised to help him and not to let him down," James admitted. "Scorpius is going back to Hogwarts after the holidays, so I can be with him. Teddy and Victoire already promised their help as well."

Harry and Ginny nodded approvingly. They liked that James wanted to help Scorpius.

"Do you still have feelings for him? Do you want to be with him and start a family or do you just want to be there for the child and nothing else?" Ginny inquired.

"I don't know. I like him, but I'm not sure how much. Besides, I don't know if he would even want me back," James confessed.

"Don't worry, you'll figure it out," Harry assured him.

Scorpius was surprised when he got a letter from Albus that evening. Curious, he took the letter from Belladonna – Albus' owl – and gave her some owl crackers. Then he started to read.

_Hi Scor!_

_James told Mum and Dad about you. They took it fairly well. According to Mum you are now officially part of this family. She also told me to invite you because they would like to talk to you. So visit us as soon as possible, please._

_See you soon hopefully,_

_Albus_

_P.S.: I'm the black sheep of the family again._

Scorpius laughed in relief. James and Albus were so lucky to have parents like this. Mr. and Mrs. Potter were usually laid back and they would never disown one of their children. He was glad they accepted him, but he was still nervous about the meeting with them. Quickly, he wrote an answer.

_Hey Al,_

_I'm glad your parents took the news well. I could come by tomorrow afternoon, if that's alright with you. Just floo me, it's quicker than writing letters._

_Scorpius_

_P.S: Why are you the black sheep of the family?_

Scorpius letter arrived the next day with the morning post. With it came three other owls carrying Hogwarts letters for James, Albus and Lily. Albus read the letter from Scorpius first.

"Hey Mum, Scorpius writes he can come by this afternoon. Is that alright?" Albus asked after he had read the letter.

"Of course. I'm looking forward to seeing him again," Ginny answered with a smile.

"Ok, I'll tell him that," Albus said and flooed Scorpius.

Meanwhile, James and Lily had read their Hogwarts letters. Lily's only contained the obligatory book list and the reminder that the new term would start on the first of September. But James letter contained a surprise. He did not only get the badge for the Gryffindor Quidditch captain but also the Head Boy badge. Surprised, he showed it to his mother.

"You are Head Boy? Congratulation, James. I'm proud of you," she said and hugged him tightly.

"Maybe McGonagall will change her mind when she hears about me and Malfoy," James mumbled and looked at the badge doubtfully.

"Oh rubbish," Ginny said. "I'm sure she had her reasons for choosing you as Head Boy."

"James is Head Boy? McGonagall must have lost her mind," Albus, who had finished his floo call, remarked. "Scorpius will be here at four o'clock by the way."

"Albus!" his mother admonished him, while James glared at him.

Albus picked up his own Hogwarts letter and opened it, unimpressed by the two. As expected the letter contained his book list and his badge as Quidditch captain. To his surprise he found a second badge contained in his letter – a Prefect badge.

"Why are you a Prefect now instead of Scorpius?" James asked as he saw the badge.

"McGonagall probably thinks that Scorpius has enough on his plate at the moment without worrying about the duties of a Prefect," Albus mused.

"I think you are right," Ginny agreed. "He will be here at four o'clock you said?"

"Yes, he said he has to take the Knight Bus because he isn't allowed to floo or apparate anymore," Albus explained. "Teddy and Victoire will accompany him."

"Oh, that's great. We don't see Teddy often enough," she said.

When four o'clock came around Teddy, Victoire and a nervous Scorpius knocked on the door of Potter Cottage. It was opened by an equally nervous James.

"Hi! Come in," he greeted them.

They stepped into the house and were led into the living room by James where the rest of the family was already waiting for them. On the table was an apple pie Ginny had baked for the occasion.

"Please sit down. How are you, Scorpius?" Ginny asked and pulled him in for a hug. Scorpius was surprised but hugged her back after a short moment of hesitation.

When she released Scorpius, she turned to Teddy and Victoire to hug them as well. "Where is your little Vénus? I had hoped to see her again."

"We left her with Nana Molly," Teddy told her.

"Do you want some apple pie?" Ginny asked and started to hand out plates with pie to everyone.

When everyone had a plate with pie and found a seat, Ginny and Harry started to ask their questions.

"Are you visiting with Teddy and Victoire at the moment?" Ginny asked, wondering why Scorpius had come with them instead of his parents or alone.

"You could say that," Scorpius answered uncomfortably.

"Scorpius is staying with us during the holidays," Teddy explained.

"Why isn't he living with his parents?" Ginny inquired.

"Draco still needs some time to come to terms with the situation," Teddy mitigated the truth somewhat. "And this way Victoire can take better care of him as his midwitch."

"But surely you have already enough on your hands with Vénus. Scorpius, would you like to stay with us for the rest of the holidays?" Ginny offered.

"That's really nice of you Mrs. Potter...," Scorpius began hesitantly.

"Please call me Ginny," she interrupted him.

"Aunt Ginny, we really don't mind having Scorpius with us. He's a great help with Vénus and this way I don't need to leave the house for his check-ups," Victoire explained. It was true but she could also see how uncomfortable Scorpius was with the idea and that he would rather stay with them.

"Ginny, I'm sure Scorpius has already settled in with Teddy and Victoire. I think he should stay with them to avoid any unnecessary stress if they don't mind having him," Harry took their side as well. He, too, had noticed how uncomfortable Scorpius felt.

"Fine, if you think so. I just thought now that he's family...," Ginny gave in.

"He and Teddy are related, remember?" Harry reminded her.

"Ok, ok, you've convinced me. You are still welcome anytime if you ever change your mind," she added.

So Scorpius spent the rest of the holidays in the old Black house, where James visited him nearly every day. Both tried to get to know each other better and not fight over every tiny detail. Slowly but surely they developed a friendship. Both were still hoping to get back together but neither of them dared to broach the subject.

Harry had struggled with himself for a few days after the meeting. Technically it was none of his business but he just couldn't accept how Draco Malfoy had treated his son. To just kick him out when he needed him the most was inconceivable for Harry. Therefore, three days later, he was standing in front of the gates to Malfoy Manor.

"What Harry Potter be doing here?" he was greeted by a house elf.

"Hello, I would like to speak with Draco Malfoy," he replied politely.

"Please follow Noddy, Sir," the elf said and ran up the gateway to the entrance in front of him. He stopped in the entrance hall and addressed Harry again.

"Please wait here, Sir. Noddy be going to Master Malfoy. Noddy be telling him Mr. Potter wishes to see him," Noddy said and vanished.

Five minutes later Malfoy finally appeared and led Harry into a small drawing room. He offered him an armchair and Noddy brought tea for them.

"What brings you to my humble abode, Potter?" Malfoy came straight to the point.

"To be honest, I would like to talk to you about Scorpius. I found out a few days ago that you have kicked him out," Harry informed him.

"Yes, not that it's any of your business," Malfoy replied.

"You are probably right but don't you think that's a little extreme? How can you just kick your son out?" Harry bristled.

"I have my reasons," the blond answered coldly.

"Oh really? Let's hear them then. I can't think of one single reason for me to turn my back on one of my kids," the auror demanded angrily.

"My reasons are none of your concern, Potter. How do you even know about this?" he asked suspiciously.

"Scorpius is staying with my godson, Teddy Lupin, in case you are interested," Harry answered evasively.

For a moment Malfoy seemed relieved but his cold, emotionless mask returned quickly.

"Scorpius knows what he has to do to come back home," Malfoy said. "I think it's time for you to go."

"If you say so, Malfoy," Harry replied. "But has it ever occurred to you that Scorpius might have his own reasons? Maybe it's exactly this reaction he was afraid of. Think about it."

Harry stood and left Malfoy Manor without turning back to look at Draco, who watched him go with a pensive expression on his face.


	18. Chapter 18

Summer Fling

**Chapter 18**

Albus' sixteenth birthday went much like his fifteenth. All the Weasleys, the Lupins, Longbottoms, Lovegoods and the Zabini-siblings were there. The only one missing was Scorpius, who had stayed at Grimmauld Place again.

"Hey Al! Happy Birthday. Where is Scor?" Lucas asked as soon as he had arrived. He hadn't seen his cousin since school ended and was worried.

"Scor couldn't come, he's still ill unfortunately," Albus fibbed.

"Still? Do you know what's wrong with him?" Lucas inquired.

"Yes, but I had to promise him not to tell anyone. As far as I know he wants to tell you himself," Albus explained.

"And when does he want to tell me?"

"No idea."

As the party came to an end Harry asked the Weasleys to stay behind. He wanted to use the opportunity now that the whole family was together to tell them about his first grandchild. James had been nervous all day, wondering how the family would react to his news.

"So what's up, Harry?" Ron asked when all the other guests had left.

"We – mainly James – have an announcement. Please listen before you say anything," Harry said.

James seemed unusually nervous as he stepped in front of his family. All of them were curious about the big news that managed to turn the usually confident James into a nervous wreck.

"Nana, Grandpa," he addressed Molly and Arthur, "in two months you will have a second great-grandchild."

For a few seconds a deathlike silence reigned in the room then the chaos broke out. The only ones who stayed calm were Teddy, Victoire and Fred because they already knew.

"QUIET!" Ginny shouted. "One question at a time."

"I thought James was gay," Ron was the first to remark.

"I am," James replied annoyed.

"But...," Hermione argued.

"There was a potions accident," Harry explained.

"Oh," Hermione said as if that would explain everything and her eyes lit up with curiosity.

"And where is your boyfriend, James? Why isn't he here?" Molly wondered.

"He didn't want to be here when I tell you, Nana. He was afraid how you would react to his identity," James explained.

"Why would he be afraid of us?" Molly asked indignantly.

"Well," James hummed and hawed. "His and our families don't really get along."

"Please tell me it's not a Slytherin," Ron begged.

"Hermione smacked his head. "Don't be so childish, Ron," she hissed at him.

"Yes, Uncle Ron, he's a Slytherin just like Albus and if you've got a problem with that you are welcome to go now," James growled at his godfather.

"But I always thought you hated Slytherins," Ron said confused.

James lowered his head and looked at his shoes. How was he going to explain this? Ron was right he had always made fun of the Slytherins.

"James grew up, unlike you," Ginny answered instead of her son.

"So who is his boyfriend?"Bill interrupted.

"Yes, why didn't we know about your boyfriend?" Louis, Roxanne and George chimed in.

James sighed and said, "It's Scorpius." 'Malfoy' he left out on purpose.

"MALFOY?!" his family echoed.

"Yes, Scorpius Malfoy. This is exactly why he didn't want to be here when I tell you," James stated.

"Where did we go wrong?" Ron groaned. "First Albus then Rose and now you!"

"That's why Scorpius wasn't allowed to brew potions and play Quidditch anymore, wasn't it?" Rose remarked perceptive as ever.

"Yes. Victoire and Madam Pomfrey forbade him," James affirmed.

"What kind of potions accident? You don't even have potions together," Louis wondered.

"I had nothing to do with the potion," James clarified instantly.

"What was Malfoy trying to brew to cause such an effect?" his cousin Molly piped up.

"Malfoy wasn't brewing anything. Someone else thought it was a great idea to experiment with potions in their dorm," James answered.

"Who is irresponsible enough to experiment with potions in their bedroom?" Percy asked incredulously.

"George!" Ron, Hermione, Bill and Charlie shouted in remembrance of Fred and Georges early experiments.

"Albus!" Harry, Ginny, James, Teddy and Victoire answered instead.

Albus ducked his head. He had hoped his part in this wouldn't come up, but no. Everyone stared at him, shaking their head in disbelieve.

"ALBUS SEVERUS POTTER! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" his grandmother started to rant.

"It's Albus' fault we are going to be related to the Malfoys?" Ron asked in a hushed voice.

"Apparently," Hermione replied and completely forgot to reprimand him for his attitude against the Malfoys.

"Molly, we already punished Albus and I'm sure he won't make the same mistake again, right?" Harry tried to placate his mother-in-law before she could gain momentum.

"Yes, I've learned my lesson," Albus quickly agreed with his father.

"How did Draco Malfoy react to the news?" Arthur piped up for the first time.

"Draco only knows about Scorpius pregnancy so far. He doesn't know about James," Harry answered.

"Scorpius is living with us at the moment because Draco has kicked him out," Teddy added.

"He did WHAT? Oh, the poor boy," Molly said pityingly. She was already planning what she wanted to knit for her new great-grandchild.

"Damn Malfoys. They are all the same," Ron grumbled.

The rest was outraged as well. How could you just kick out a sixteen-year-old in such a situation?

"I don't think Draco really meant what he said," Harry remarked. I think he just wanted Scorpius to tell him the truth and then was too proud to take it back. I bet he will apologize to Scorpius as soon as the child is born."

"How can you be so sure about that?" Hermione asked.

"We all know how proud the Malfoys are, but at the end of the day family is the most important thing for them, too. Malfoy would never abandon his son so easily," Harry said with conviction.

"If you say so," Ron replied doubtfully.

All in all the family took the news much better than James had expected. The last two weeks of the holidays flew by, the first of September arrived and with it their return to Hogwarts.

Scorpius had decided to take the Hogwarts Express together with his friends. He wanted to use the opportunity to tell them the truth. Victoire had cast the charm to hide his pregnancy, so no one on the platform would notice it. Scorpius was one of the first students to board the train and looked for an empty compartment. James and his friends would join him later.

Scorpius had only been waiting for then minutes when Lucas and Seline Zabini found and joined him. They greeted him enthusiastically since they hadn't seen him at all during the holidays.

"Scor! It's good to see you! Do you have finally recovered?" Lucas asked.

"We were worried about you," Seline said.

"I'm sorry. I'm afraid there are a few things I need to tell you," Scorpius admitted.

"What things?" Lucas inquired.

"Can we please wait until the others are here as well?" Scorpius asked.

"Fine," Lucas sighed impatiently.

A few minutes later the compartment door slid open again and the three Potter children entered. Lucas looked up curiously normally Albus was the only one to sit with them.

"Don't worry, we will be gone in a moment but Scorpius wanted us here when he drops the bomb," James grinned. He was a little nervous how Scorpius' cousins would react to the news and tried to hide his nervousness.

"You know what he has been keeping from us?" Seline asked.

"Yes, we found out a few weeks ago," James confirmed.

Lucas wondered if Scorpius' secret and James' presence had something to do with their secret affair. Had the two of them decided to make it official? And what about Scorpius' mysterious illness?

"Ok, you know how I told everyone I was ill a few months before the holidays?" Scorpius began nervously.

"Yeees?" Lucas answered questioningly.

"Well, that wasn't exactly the truth. Madam Pomfrey really forbade me to brew potions and play Quidditch but not because I was ill but because...because I'm pregnant," he confessed haltingly.

Lucas and Seline looked at him completely flabbergasted.

"I thought that was only possible with the help of a potion that is unbelievably hard to brew and therefore really rare and expensive?" Lucas finally managed to get out.

"Um, yes. You know, there was an accident. Do you remember when Albus experimented with that potion in our dorm?" Scorpius addressed Lucas.

"Yes. Does that mean _Albus_ brewed that potion for you?" the brown-haired boy asked incredulously.

"Not exactly, as I said it was an accident. He was trying to brew something completely different but something went wrong and I got splashed with the botched potion and, well..."

"You are never brewing in our dorm again, is that clear?" Lucas said to Albus threateningly.

"Crystal-clear. I've learned my lesson, Teddy and Mum made sure of it," he assured his friend.

"I assume it's his," Lucas said and nodded over to James.

"Yes," Scorpius affirmed.

"You and James Potter?" Seline asked incredulously.

"Yes. Well, technically speaking we aren't together anymore but under the given circumstances..."

"...we will be spending a lot of time together," James finished Scorpius sentence.

The clock chimed eleven o'clock and the train left the station.

"We need to go to the Prefects compartment," Albus said.

Lucas and Seline looked at him in confusion.

"But isn't Scorpius prefect?" Lucas said.

"No, not anymore. Albus will take over for me this year," Scorpius explained.

"Then we can go together, I'm a prefect, too," Seline happily told her boyfriend.

She gave him a kiss on the cheek and dragged him out of the compartment. James followed them since he was expected there as well as Head Boy. Lucas, Scorpius and Lily were left alone. Lily soon took her leave as well and went looking for Hugo and Lorcan, thereby leaving Lucas and Scorpius alone in the compartment.

"How did Uncle Draco react to all this?" Lucas asked after a while.

"He kicked me out," Scorpius answered drily.

"Just like this?" Lucas asked stunned.

"He wanted to know who I had been with and I refused to tell him James' name because I thought that would freak him out even more. He didn't like that, so he kicked me out," Scorpius told him, sounding bitter.

"Then where have you been during the holidays? You didn't arrive with the Potters so I assume you weren't with them," the dark haired boy guessed.

"My cousin Ted Lupin and his wife Victoire took me in. Victoire is also my midwitch and healer. I spend the majority of the holidays babysitting their daughter Vénus. She's really cute and a metamorphmagus like her father. Her hair is usually blond or pink," Scorpius gushed.

"Well at least this way you will have a lot of practice when your own child arrives. Shouldn't it be time soon? Why can't you see anything?"

"Yes, I'm due at the end of September or the beginning of October and you can't see anything because Victoire cast a charm for me to make my stomach look normal."

"Do you know if it will be a boy or a girl? Do you already have a name for it?" Lucas asked.

No, I want it to be a surprise. James and I already agreed on a girl's name but we still have three names for a boy to choose from because we couldn't agree on one. Now it depends on which hair colour he will have if it's a boy," he explained to his cousin.

"It depends on his hair colour? Which names did you choose?" the brown-haired boy inquired.

"You will find out when the child is born, until then its name will stay a secret. And yes, if it's a boy his name depends on if his hair is blond, black or red. Although I really hope he won't have red hair," Scorpius said.

"Is it the name he would get or is it just the red hair you would find horrible?" Lucas asked.

"Both. I mean, a Malfoy with red hair? And the name is just so...Gryffindor," the blond complained.

"Then why did you agree?" the older boy asked amusedly.

"Because I had already chosen the other two names and James convinced me to let him choose one, too. Besides, it's unlikely we will have a son with red hair since I'm blond and his hair is black," Scorpius explained.

"Then I will hope you won't have a boy with red hair. Can you imagine what would happen if he was sorted into Slytherin with a name like this?" Lucas teased him.

"Shut up, Luc," was the blonds only reply.

The rest of the trip went smoothly. James, Albus and Seline came back into Scorpius' and Lucas' compartment after a few hours and the five spend the remaining hours together. Fred came over for a while to keep James company, who felt a little out of place as the only Gryffindor surrounded by Slytherins.

The feast in the Great Hall went by as usual. The first years were sorted into their Houses and afterwards there was a huge banquet. After the feast McGonagall gave a short speech like every year before she sent the students to bed. Albus, Seline, Lucas and Lysander went to the Slytherin common room together, while Teddy and Victoire showed Scorpius to their private rooms.

Fred, Roxanne, Lily and Hugo went to the Gryffindor Tower without James. As Head Boy he got his own rooms this year where Scorpius would move in with him after the birth of their child. On the one hand he couldn't wait for it to be born on the other hand he was horribly nervous. He loved to spend time with his goddaughter but to have a child of his own was something else entirely, because you couldn't just give your own child back when you had had enough.


	19. Chapter 19

Summer Fling

**Chapter 19**

Scorpius was now nine months pregnant and it was very difficult for him to move around the castle. The many staircases of Hogwarts had become too strenuous for him and he only left Teddy's and Victoire's rooms to go to the meals in the Great Hall. Teddy, Albus and James helped him with his homework he still had to hand in although he was excused from going to his classes.

On the 28th September the time of the birth finally arrived. Scorpius went into labour and was immediately rushed into a private room in the Hospital Wing by Victoire. Fortunately their quarters weren't far from the Hospital Wing and the way there was short.

Meanwhile Teddy had gone looking for James who surly didn't want to miss the birth of his child. James was sitting in his Charms class when Teddy burst in with Vénus on his arm and asked Professor Flitwick to let James go early. He quickly packed his stuff after the Professor had given his permission and followed Teddy into the hallway.

"What's going on?" James asked.

"Scorpius went into labour," Teddy informed him.

That was all James needed to know. He was already running at high speed towards the Hospital Wing. Teddy followed a little slower - teachers didn't run through the hallways. But when they arrived at the Hospital Wing the doors were locked.

"Why can't we go in?" James asked insistently.

"Victoire needs to do a caesarean and can't afford any distraction. Scorpius is drugged anyway and won't feel a thing. She will let us in as soon as your child is born," Teddy assured him.

"How long will it take?" James asked impatiently.

"Not very long. Why don't you go to our quarters and floo the family? I'm sure they would want to know," Teddy suggested.

James realized that there was nothing else he could do at the moment and went to contact his family. First he flooed his parents, both were excited and promised to come as soon as possible. Then he decided to call Andromeda, she was not only Teddy's grandmother but also Scorpius' great-aunt.

Teddy hadn't been idle either and had collected Albus, Lily, Lucas and Seline from their classes as well. The six of them were waiting in front of the Hospital Wing when the doors finally opened. Of course James was the first to be let in.

Hesitantly he stepped into the room where Scorpius was lying. The blond was lying in bed and held a small bundle in his arms. James advanced slowly and looked at the bundle in Scorpius' arms.

"May I introduce? This is our son," Scorpius said and smiled weakly. He was still dazed from the pain potions and very sleepy.

"A boy?" James asked and carefully sat down on the bed beside the two. He gently caressed the face of his son and gazed at him in wonder.

"He is beautiful and his hair is strawberry-blond. Am I allowed to call him Leo now?" James asked.

Scorpius sighed. He had hoped so much his son wouldn't have red hair.

"Yes, yes, we agreed we would call him Leo if he had red hair. I just really, really hoped he would have blond or raven hair," the blond said.

"I like his hair colour," James stated.

"Of course you like his hair colour. Nearly everyone in your family has red hair and this way he gets the name _you_ chose," Scorpius griped.

Before their argument could escalate there was a knock on the door and Victoire led Harry, Ginny – and to James' and Scorpius' astonishment – Draco and Astoria into the room. Ginny and Harry immediately hurried over to the bed to congratulate the two boys and take a look at their first grandson, while the Malfoys stood back.

"What are you doing here?" Scorpius eventually asked his parents.

"We, I mean, I would like to apologize for how I...reacted...to this news. I was just shocked and didn't really mean what I said when I told you that you aren't my son anymore. Scorpius, you are and will always be my son no matter what." It was obviously difficult for Draco to say the words but there was no doubt he meant them.

"Thank you, Father. I'm glad you are here. Do you want to meet your grandson?"

"I would be honoured. Does he have a name, yet?" he inquired.

"May I introduce Leo Silas Malfoy-Potter," Scorpius announced.

"Leo? As if it wasn't bad enough that he has red hair," Draco mumbled.

"It's the name of a constellation and his hair isn't really red, it's strawberry-blond," Scorpius immediately defended his precious son.

"He's beautiful," Astoria reassured her son. "May I hold him?"

Carefully Scorpius handed his son over to his mother. Astoria gazed at her grandson completely enchanted. Draco, who was looking over his wife's shoulder, allowed himself a soft smile. Despite his critical words his grandson already had him wrapped around his little finger. After the four grandparents had had the opportunity to hold their grandson, they gave him back to James who seemed to be bursting with pride.

"I think it's time for the godparents, what do you think?" James asked.

"Yes, I think you are right. Would you please ask Victoire, Teddy, Albus, Lily, Lucas and Seline to come in?" Scorpius requested.

James handed Leo back to Scorpius and went to call in the waiting family. Vcitoire had already seen Leo of course but the others stormed into the room driven by curiosity. Andromeda was with them as well, following the teenagers together with Victoire and Teddy at a slower pace.

This time James had the honour of introducing their son. Then he addressed the newcomers.

"Normally you ask your siblings to become godparents to your child, but Albus and Lily are still too young and Scorpius has no siblings, so we needed to decide on someone else," James began. "Teddy, I always saw you as my older brother and you are Scorpius' cousin. You took him in when he had nowhere else to go. Would you please become Leo's godfather?"

"I would be honoured," Teddy said, obviously touched.

"Victoie," it was now Scorpius' turn to speak. "You are James' cousin and you took care of me throughout my entire pregnancy, you even welcomed me into your home. I would be very happy if you became Leo's godmother."

"Of course, I would be happy to," she said with tears in her eyes.

After they had all taken a look at the newest family member, James and Scorpius were left alone again. Scorpius still needed to recover from the birth and had to stay for two more days in the Hospital Wing before he would be allowed to move into their quarters with James and Leo.

James had already set up the nursery with the help of Teddy, Harry and Ginny. Molly had knitted lots of blankets, tiny socks, bonnets and even rompers. Astoria had brought even more rompers – bought at the best shops on Diagon Alley of course.

The others hadn't come empty handed either. Lily had brought Leo a teddy bear, Albus gave Scorpius and James a small, self-brewed medicine chest for Leo and a book to go with it and Andromeda presented them with a scrapbook where they could document their child's development and put photos in.

James stayed with Scorpius in the Hospital Wing and only left to go to his classes. Victoire had put Scorpius on bed rest, so it was James' job to feed, change and rock Leo to sleep. When Scorpius was allowed to leave the Hospital Wing two days later, James was completely exhausted and smitten with his little son.

James led Scorpius, who was carrying Leo, to their rooms. They were near the Hospital Wing and the Lupins' quarters on the first floor. The entrance was guarded by a portrait of a mother with her child.

"The password is 'Lion's roar'," James said.

The portrait swung open and revealed the entrance to their rooms. They entered and Scorpius looked around. They were standing in a small living room in neutral colours. Three doors led form the living room to other rooms. The door opposite the entrance led to James' and Scorpius' room, which held two separate beds. The door to the left led to the bathroom and the door to the right to Leo's nursery. James' and Scorpius' room was connected to both of the other rooms.

None of the rooms were painted in red or green. The living room was in beige and brown colours. Leo's room had a sunny yellow, the bathroom was mainly in black and white and the bedroom was painted in a calm blue. The rooms were not luxurious but a lot better than the usual dorms.

After Scorpius had admired their rooms sufficiently he send James to bed. Leo was asleep and if he woke Scorpius would take care of him. Carefully Scorpius lay his son down into his bassinet and sat on the couch. He wasn't ready yet to leave his son out of his sight, even for a moment. Victoire had taught them a monitoring spell that would alert them as soon as Leo woke or needed them but Scorpius took the time to admire his son.

Leo had strawberry-blond hair, his facial features were distinctively Malfoy and his eyes were a dark baby-blue. Victoire had told them his eyes would probably change colour over the next few months.

Scorpius decided it was time to work on his assignments. He managed to finish his essay for Ancient Runes before Leo woke up and demanded food. Scorpius called for a house elf to bring him a bottle and started to feed his son. When he had finished he burped and changed him.

By then it was time for lunch and he decided to wake James so he wouldn't miss it. They hurried to the Hospital Wing together where they left Leo with Victoire and went down to lunch in the Great Hall. The majority of the student body was still unaware of their newest addition to the family and they wanted it to stay that way as long as possible.

"Hey James, how's it going?" James was greeted by Fred at the Gryffindor table.

"Good. A little tired. Fortunately it's the weekend," James answered.

"Can we come visit you? I really want to see the little one," Roxanne said.

"Sure, why don't you come with me after lunch? I will show him to you then," James offered.

So Fred and Roxanne followed him after lunch to his quarters. Scorpius was already there and had picked up Leo on the way from Victoire. Their little son was already sleeping again and James asked Fred and Roxanne to be quiet so they wouldn't wake him. They gazed curiously at the newest addition to their family and then sat on the couch to talk quietly with James. Scorpius retreated into their bedroom to take a small nap.

The next morning both James and Scorpius received a letter during breakfast. Apparently the great-grandparents wanted to meet their great-grandson as well. Arthur and Molly as well as Narcissa and Lucius had announced their visit this afternoon.

_This can't end well_, both of the boys thought. They quickly called for an emergency meeting in the Hospital Wing.

"Victoire, we need your and Teddy's help," James blurted out as soon as they stepped through the door of the Hospital Wing.

"Where's the fire?" Victoire asked, carrying Leo in her arms, while Vénus was playing in her play pen.

"Our grandparents are coming," Scorpius told her.

"That's nice, so what's the problem?" Victoire asked obliviously.

"This afternoon, at the same time. Arthur Weasley and Lucius Malfoy together in the same room," James explained.

"Oh, I see. That probably wouldn't be the best idea," Victoire agreed.

She handed Leo over to Scorpius and picked up Vénus from her play pen.

"Wait here, I'll go fetch Teddy," she said and disappeared.

Only a few minutes later she came back with Teddy in tow. He looked at them curiously, not yet aware of the catastrophe approaching.

"What's up?" Teddy asked.

"You need to help us prevent a catastrophe," James said dramatically.

"Aren't you exaggerating a little?" Teddy remarked.

"Maybe. Still, it's not a good idea to have Arthur Weasley and Lucius Malfoy together in the same room with a new born baby," James pointed out.

"You are probably right there but I fail to see how that is relevant at the moment," Teddy wondered.

"We got letters today at breakfast telling us that our grandparents are coming this afternoon. The Weasleys _and _the Malfoys," Scorpius explained.

"And now you need to help us to keep them away from each other so they won't kill each other," James added dramatically.

"Alright, do you know what time they will arrive and where?" Teddy immediately started to take charge.

"Grandma and Grandpa will floo to the headmistress' office at four o'clock," James answered.

"Grandfather and Grandmother will come through the gate at about three o'clock," Scorpius replied.

"Good, then I will wait for Narcissa and Lucius at the gate at three o'clock and lead them to Scorpius and Leo in your rooms. James and Victoire, you will wait with Vénus for Molly and Arthur in the headmistress' office and keep them occupied until we've got rid of Lucius and Narcissa," Teddy decided.

"And how are we supposed to know when it's safe to bring Grandma and Grandpa to our rooms?" James asked.

"I could come join you after I have escorted Narcissa and Lucius back to the gate," Teddy suggested.

"I've got a better idea," James said. "I could just use the Marauder's Map."

"Ok, so we have our plan of action," Teddy stated.

"Yes, but there is one problem," James pointed out. "How the hell are we supposed to keep Nana Molly from seeing her great-grandson as soon as possible?"

"I have a suggestion," Scorpius chipped in. "If the woman likes children so much you only need to get all her grandchildren together. That should keep her occupied for a while."

"Great idea, Scor. I'm going to round everyone up and ask them to help. Could you tell Al?" James said, and was gone.

Shaking his head in slight exasperation he handed Leo over to Victoire and went looking for Albus.


	20. Chapter 20

Summer Fling

**Chapter 20**

Teddy was waiting for the Malfoys at the entrance gate of Hogwarts at three o'clock as they had agreed. They were exactly on time and he welcomed them on the school grounds. As they made their way up to the school, some of the students, who were enjoying their weekend outside in the sun, were looking at them curiously as did the students inside the castle.

"Lion's roar," Teddy said as they reached the portrait that guarded the entrance to James' and Scorpius' quarters.

Scorpius was already waiting for them in the living room, sitting on the couch with Leo in his arms. When he heard them enter he stood up to greet them.

"Hello Father, Mother," he welcomed his parents. "Grandfather, Grandmother," he said to his grandparents and nodded his head slightly in their direction.

"Hello Scorpius," his mother said and hugged him affectionately, careful not to crush Leo.

Narcissa followed her example and greeted her grandson with a hug as well. Then she took a step back to look at her great-grandson.

"So this is my great-grandson?" she asked.

"Yes, this is Leo Silas Malfoy-Potter," Scorpius answered nervously and hoped his grandfather wouldn't fly off the handle at the mention of the name Potter.

Lucius Malfoy had served his sentence – five years in Askaban – and then completely retired from politics. He had made his family his first priority although it hadn't changed his arrogant and often cold demeanour.

"He looks like you," Narcissa remarked. "Can I hold him?" she then asked.

Scorpius nodded and handed her the only days old baby. She took him carefully and smiled at him.

"He's really a cute little baby. He reminds me so much of you and your father as babies," she said. "Come Lucius and take a look at your great-grandson," she prompted her husband.

Lucius followed her prompt and stepped closer. He looked over her shoulder at the baby in his wife's arms and gazed at it. The first thing he noticed was the strawberry blond hair. They reminded him painfully of who the other father was. Then he took a closer look at the baby's face and he had to agree with his wife. The child definitely looked like a Malfoy. Slightly mollified he extended his hand and caressed the face of the baby with one finger.

"I'm glad our family won't die out despite your obvious inclinations but you could have waited a few more years to continue the family line. And did it have to be with a Potter who is on top of that half Weasley?" he finally said in a slightly agonized voice.

Draco looked equally tormented at that and his wife jabbed him with her elbow into his side.

"If I'd had a choice I would have waited but I don't regret it," Scorpius said bravely. "The Potters are very kind and most of the Weasleys are alright, too. At least those who don't care that my last name is Malfoy," he added and rolled his eyes.

"Whatever makes you happy, Scorpius. And the Potters are a very respectable family," Narcissa assured him.

"Thanks, Grandma," her grandson said and smiled at her gratefully.

While the Malfoys met their youngest family member, James was waiting with his siblings, Rose, Hugo, Fred, Roxanne, Lucy and Victoire with Vénus in Professor McGonagalls office for their Grandparents.

Arthur and Molly arrived as planned at four o'clock in the headmistress' office. Molly was the first to step out of the fireplace, followed by Arthur only a few seconds later. But they weren't alone to the children's surprise they had brought Charlie, Bill, Fleur, Dominique, Louis, George, Angelina, Ron and Hermione with them. Besides Percy, his wife and their eldest daughter Molly the whole family had come.

The Weasley-children were hugged tightly by their mothers and grandmother. James, Albus, Lily and Lucy were standing slightly off to the side since their parents weren't there. But even they couldn't escape Nana Molly's embrace. After the greetings were over they thanked Professor McGonagall for allowing this visit and offering her office.

Quickly James pulled out his map to look where the Malfoys were. Luckily they were already on their way back to the gate and he led his family to their quarters where Scorpius was already waiting for them. Scorpius was feeding Leo when they entered.

"Hey Scorpius," James said and went over to him and their son. He gave Leo a kiss on the forehead and whispered to Scorpius, "How was it with your grandparents? Is everything ok?"

Scorpius nodded slightly and looked over to the entrance where a horde of Weasleys was standing. They had all squeezed through the entrance into the room and were now observing the two boys with their baby curiously.

"Sorry I didn't warn you but I didn't know the whole family would come," James said still whispering. Then he straightened and said, "May I introduce our son Leo Silas Malfoy-Potter. You all know Scorpius already I think."

"He's so cute," Lily started to gush immediately.

Molly was the first to step towards Scorpius and Leo. She embraced them both carefully.

"Hello Scorpius, welcome to our family," she said cordially.

Ron and Arthur looked at her as if she had lost her mind.

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley," Scorpius answered a little overwhelmed.

"Call me Molly, dear. Or Nana if you want, like all the others," she told him.

Scorpius nodded and gave her a tentative smile then he looked over to the rest of the family. James noticed that Leo had finished his bottle and took him from Scorpius. He patted him gently on the back to make him burp.

"You know my family?" James asked Scorpius.

Scorpius nodded in affirmation but James introduced them nonetheless.

"The woman who just hugged you is my Nana Molly. The man over there is her husband Arthur and next to him is my Uncle Charlie. The people next to Victoire and Vénus are Uncle Bill, his wife Fleur, their younger daughter Dominique and Louis, who I think you remember. On the other side are my godparents Ron and Hermione with their children Rose and Hugo and the last ones are Uncle George with his wife Angelina and my two best friends Fred and Roxanne. Oh yes and Lucy, sorry I nearly forgot you."

Everyone said a short "Hello," as James introduced them.

"Alright, now give me my great-grandson," Molly demanded when James had finished his introductions.

The younger ones chuckled at Molly's eagerness to get her hands on the baby. It was plain to see how much she adored children. James handed Leo over to Molly and sat down next to Scorpius who was still a little overwhelmed by the sheer number of Weasleys in their quarters and seemed to feel a little ill at ease.

"A Malfoy with red hair, Lucius must be delighted," Arthur remarked gleefully.

"Grandpa!" James said in a warning tone, while Molly called "Arthur!"

"And Leo's hair is strawberry-BLOND," James added emphatically.

"Not blond enough to call him Cygnus," Scropius murmured under his breath.

"Oh come on, admit it, Leo is a nice name he at least won't be ridiculed for later," James said.

"Except if he is sorted into Slytherin," Scorpius argued.

"My son certainly won't be in Slytherin!" James bristled.

"We will see," the Slytherin whispered.

"It's a bit late for that discussion, isn't it?" Albus noted who had listened in on their quiet conversation.

"Yes, unfortunately," Scorpius sighed. "I should have never let your brother persuade me."

"Hello," said Teddy who had just come into the room. He went over to Victoire, gave her and their daughter a kiss and then greeted their family.

"Teddy, it's good to see you. We were wondering where you were," Bill said.

"Sorry I'm late but I had to escort the Malfoys to the gates," Teddy apologized.

"The Malfoys?" Bill asked. "They were here, too?"

"Yes, Lucius and Narcissa wanted to meet their great-grandson," his son-in-law answered.

"O' so the Malfoys 'ave finally come to terms wizz Scorpius 'aving a baby?" Fleur asked who had never completely lost her French accent.

"Yes, all four Malfoys were here and promised Scorpius their support. Narcissa and Astoria are already completely smitten with the little one," Teddy revealed.

"What about the Malfoy-men?" Bill asked.

"Lucius and Draco are still struggling to accept the name, hair colour and James as the other father," Teddy chuckled. "But I think even they have succumbed to Leo's charms."

For quite some time Leo was passed from arm to arm within the family until everyone had had their chance to hold him. When he eventually began to fuss Scorpius took him into the nursery to change his nappy and then lay him down into his crib. He cast the monitoring spell that would alert him instantly to any problems. Then he walked back into the living room and cast the Muffliato spell on the door so Leo wouldn't be disturbed by their voices.

He noticed most of the Weasleys had left as he exited the nursery. James, Albus, Lily, Fred, Roxanne, Teddy, Victoire and Vénus were the only ones still there.

"Well, how is parenthood?" Fred was asking curiously.

"Exhausting," James answered dryly.

"Do you and Scorpius get along? I mean, now you are living together and see each other every day?" Roxanne asked worriedly.

"Surprisingly we do. We still fight sometimes but nothing like before," James admitted.

"Will you marry him now?" Lily asked innocently.

Scorpius was still standing at the door to the nursery unnoticed by the others and was waiting with baited breath for James' answer.

"We aren't together anymore, Lily. So surly not in the near future," James answered carefully.

"But maybe in the distant future?" Albus inquired now.

At this point Scorpius cleared his throat to announce his presence.

"Oh, hey Scorpius. I didn't see you there. How long have you been standing there?" James babbled embarrassed.

"Not long," Scorpius answered evasively.

"So Leo is asleep?" James changed the topic.

"Yes, so many visitors must have exhausted him. He fell asleep as soon as I put him down."

The students talked some more before they took their leave. Victoire was the only one who stayed behind.

"How are you faring? Do you have some more questions or can I help you with anything?" she inquired.

"No, I think we've everything under control for now, thank you Vicky," James said and Scorpius nodded in agreement.

"Good, then I'll be back tomorrow. If anything comes up in the meanwhile you know where to find me." With that she took her leave as well and followed her husband and daughter.

Exhausted the two boys flopped down onto the couch.

"We should take a short nap as long as we still can," Scorpius remarked.

"Yes, but I'm too tired to move," James stated.

"Me too," the Slytherin said.

"Then let's just sleep here on the couch," the Gryffindor suggested.

"Together?" the blond asked hesitantly.

"Yes, why not?" the raven haired boy asked. It wouldn't be the first time for them to share a couch after all.

"Ok," Scorpius acquiesced eventually.

After Scorpius had agreed, James stretched out on the couch and drew Scorpius close, until the blond lay with his head on his shoulder. They lay snuggled together like this until fatigue overwhelmed them and they fell asleep. Both slept with a smile on their face, secretly wishing they could fall asleep like this every night.


	21. Chapter 21

Summer Fling

**Chapter 21**

Scorpius didn't return to classes right away after Leo was born but was still tutored by Professor Lupin, James and Albus. Ancient Runes was the only subject none of them could help him with, so he asked Rose for help.

Albus actually liked his 'punishment' to babysit Leo and did so for one or two hours every day so James and Scorpius could get a break. Victoire came by on a regular basis to check up on Leo and to answer any questions the two young fathers had.

James was sitting in the Gryffindor common room with his friends when Hugo came over to him.

"Hey, James, could I talk to you for a minute?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure," James replied and they went to a quiet corner of the common room. James quickly cast the Muffliato-spell so no one could listen in on them.

"I suppose this is about Lysander?" James voiced his assumption.

"Yes. I don't know if he even likes boys that way and I have no idea how to find out," Hugo admitted.

"Hm. As far as I know you have three possibilities. The first – and easiest – would be if it was common knowledge, then you would just need to ask around the school. Second option would be to directly ask Lysander himself. And the third – and riskiest option – you act like a true Gryffindor and just kiss him or flirt with him," James explained.

"And if he doesn't like men that way?" the younger Gryffindor asked uncertainly.

"Then he will tell you that. You and Lysander have been friends for a long time now, I'm sure he would be nice about it and not ridicule you for it. You always risk rejection no matter if you ask a boy or a girl to go out with you," the older one told him sympathetically.

"I don't think I'd have the guts to just kiss him or ask him out and I have no idea how to flirt with someone," Hugo said disheartened.

"Then you will just have to ask him. Why don't you start with telling him that you are gay, to test his reaction. Maybe he will do the same," James suggested.

"Okay, thanks James," Hugo said. "So how's it going with Scorpius?" he changed the topic.

"What do you mean?" James asked playing innocent.

"Come on, everyone can see you still fancy each other. You _do_ want him back, right?" Hugo stated.

"Yes but I don't want him to think I only want him because of Leo," the Head Boy admitted.

Hugo nodded sympathetically but had no advice to give his cousin.

On the 19th October James celebrated his 18th birthday. Leo was only a few weeks old so the party was quite small with only his family. They couldn't invite anyone else because no one else knew about Leo. Many students wondered why James didn't throw a big party like the year before but he easily dealt with them.

After Halloween, Scorpius started to return to some of his classes. He started with Herbology, Charms and Potions in which he had received Es on his OWLs. While he and James had classes Victoire took care of Leo. Since she was working in the Hospital Wing again some students had noticed the baby and some wild rumours spread around the school.

One of the more harmless rumours said the baby was found abandoned in front of the Hogwarts gates and the Lupins had adopted it. Another rumour said the baby was Professor Lupin's child from an affair, some even said with a student. None of the rumours came even close to the truth.

The teachers soon tired of the questions and speculations of the students and Professor McGonagall decided to address the subject one evening at dinner. She wanted to clear some things up before the rumours got even more absurd than they already were. When all of the teachers and most of the students were assembled in the Great Hall she stood and asked for their attention.

"It has come to my attention that Madam Lupin and some of the other teachers have been asked about the baby Madam Lupin is currently taking care of. Since there seem to be going around some nasty rumours I'd like to rectify some things," the headmistress began.

"The child is the seven-weeks-old son of two of our students whose identity we won't disclose," she announced.

"This does _not _mean however that our school approves of or supports teenage pregnancies. This is a special case and I hope it will stay the only one," Professor McGonagall warned her students with a stern gaze.

"Please stop bothering Madam Lupin and the other teachers with further questions, they won't be answering any," she ended her speech and sat back on her seat at the middle of the teachers table.

Immediately the Great Hall erupted into loud whispering. On all of the four House tables the students puzzled over the identity of the two students. Every known couple was scrutinised by their peers.

Fortunately no one made the connection between Scorpius supposed illness and a pregnancy. James and Scorpius were both present in the Great Hall. Albus had offered to look after Leo while they ate dinner.

"Did you know McGonagall was going to do this?" Fred whispered to his best friend and cousin.

"Yes, she asked my permission this morning after Transfiguration," James answered in a whisper as well. Although they were surrounded by family you could never be careful enough at Hogwarts.

"The rumours were really getting ridiculous," Roxanne commented.

"I wonder who the parents are?" her boyfriend Alexander Wood – who wasn't privy to their secret - mused loudly. "Do you think it's someone from Gryffindor?"

"No idea," Alison Jordan, Fred's girlfriend, answered. "But why all this secrecy?"

James, Fred and Roxanne simply shrugged, unsure what to say.

"You are unusually quiet," Alison remarked. "Do you know more than we do? Professor Lupin is after all practically James' older brother and Madam Lupin is your cousin."

"Yes, we know who it is but we are not allowed to tell anyone," James confessed. "But I can ask if I can tell you," he offered. He felt guilty that Fred and Roxanne had to keep secrets from their partners because of him.

"Okay, thank you, James. It has to be a really juicy story for the teachers to keep it under wraps," Alex said.

"If I get the permission to tell you then only under the condition that you promise to tell no one – and I really mean no one – else about this," James warned them. Wood was known for his big mouth and often inadvertently spilled secretes – his and other people's.

"How did the Gryffindors react? Has anyone come even close to the truth?" Scorpius asked after dinner when they had returned to their quarters.

"No, not as far as I know but Alex and Alison know that I and my family know the truth. I was feeling guilty because Fred and Roxanne weren't allowed to tell them although they are dating," James answered.

"You want to tell them?" Scorpius shouted upset.

"Yes. No. Would it be alright if I tell them that it's _my_ child but not with whom?" the Gryffindor asked nervously.

"You really want to risk someone blabbing about it or eavesdropping and it ending up in the Daily Prophet?" the Slytherin asked incredulously.

"Alex and Alison are my friends, I don't want to lie to them, Scorpius," James said upset.

He knew the more people knew the greater was the possibility the rest of the school would find out. And then there would surely be headlines about them in the Daily Prophet. The Daily Prophet still published articles about the Saviour of the Wizarding World and his family on a regular basis. They would have a field day with the story about James' son. However he couldn't lie to his friends any longer but he would at least try to protect Scorpius from the scandal.

"Okay, it's your decision. Tell them if you must as long as you keep me out of it. I'm not ready yet to deal with all the insults and stares I'll get as soon as this gets out," Scorpius said.

"You are aware we can't hide Leo forever, aren't you?" James cautiously pointed out.

"Yes, I know, but not yet, please," the blonde begged.

"Alright, I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to," James promised.

"Thank you, James," Scorpius said relieved.

The next day after their last lesson, James, Fred, Alison, Roxanne and Alex went together to Gryffindor Tower. They searched for an unoccupied table in a quiet corner and started on their huge mountain of homework. After they had all completed two essays they decided to leave it at that for the moment and take a break. Fred suggested going to dinner in the Great Hall.

"You two go ahead," James said to Fred and Roxanne. "Would you mind if I borrowed Alex and Alison for a moment?"

"No, we'll be waiting in the Great Hall for you," Fred answered.

Fred and Roxanne went down to dinner together while James led the other two into an abandoned classroom.

"Why did drag us here?" Alex asked.

"You wanted to know who the baby belonged to, didn't you?" James replied.

"Yes, does that mean you're allowed to tell us?" Alison inquired.

"Yes, but only part of it. I can only tell you the name of one of the parents," James told them.

"Why?" Alex asked.

"Because I had to promise," James answered.

"Alright, shoot. Shock us!" Alison prompted him.

"Oh, I'm sure you will be shocked but first you need to swear not to tell anyone what I'm going to tell you," James demanded.

"I swear," they both replied impatiently.

"Okay, Leo belongs to me. He's my son," he revealed and enjoyed their shocked faces.

"You?" they both shouted in obvious surprise.

"You are having us on," Alison accused him.

"I thought girls didn't do it for you," Alex remarked confused.

"I didn't even know you were in a serious relationship," Alison complained.

"If you would let me finish I would explain it to you," James said half amused and half irritated.

"It was a potions accident – one I had nothing to do with by the way. Ironically we broke up exactly on the day it happened. We haven't been together for quite some time now," he told them the short version, carefully avoiding all clues towards Scorpius.

"Okay, so you've got a two month old son whose name is Leo together with – another boy? – from Hogwarts who you've broken up with nearly a year ago," Alison summarized the situation.

"Pretty much, yeah," James confirmed.

"It's a wonder the press doesn't know yet. That would definitely be front page material," Alison commented.

"I know, that's why you needed to swear not to tell anyone. No one besides our families knows," James stressed again.

"James, we are your friends, you can trust us," Alex assured him.

"I'm trying to remember who you were dating last year but I can't think of anyone," Alison remarked confusedly.

"We kept our affair a secret," James confessed.

"Why? You were never overly discrete about your love life," Alex remarked.

"Come on, I'm sure Fred and Roxanne are already wondering where we are," James said to change the subject.

Reluctantly the two other Gryffindors followed him to the Great Hall. They knew they would get no more information out of him although they were now even more curious than ever. But when they sat down next to Fred and Roxanne to eat dinner they talked about other things.

After dinner James returned to Leo and Scorpius in their quarters.


	22. Chapter 22

Summer Fling

**Chapter 22**

After Professor McGonagall's speech many students stepped by the Hospital Wing pretending to be ill in the hopes to catch a glimpse of the mysterious baby boy and maybe be able to guess his parents. But Victoire kept the curious students away from Leo to the best of her abilities and no one came near enough to notice any family resemblance. New rumours appeared about the parent's identity but no one was able to come up with anything to prove these rumours. It was all pure speculation.

James and Scorpius found the rumours very amusing. They came up with the weirdest pairings. Rose and Lucas, James and Alice Longbottom, Scorpius and Lily, Lysander and Mai Corner even Fred and Primrose Parkinson. But even with all the speculation going on no one suspected two boys to be the parents much less James and Scorpius.

Hugo managed to gather his courage after a few days for his talk with Lysander. Stammering and blushing bright red he finally managed to come out and tell him he thought he might be gay. Lysander's only reaction was a nonchalant offer to act as a guinea pig if he ever needed one. Hugo gladly took him up on the offer.

The news about Hugo's and Lysander's relationship quickly spread around the school and diverted some of the attention from Leo. Hugo wasn't too worried about his coming out because James had already done it before him and he knew how his family would react. As expected they all accepted it without much fuss and he only had to put up with some stupid comments from some fellow students.

Hugo and Lysander weren't the only new couple though. Lily had finally managed to snag Lorcan, Lysander's twin brother from Ravenclaw, for herself. Since the two Scamander-brothers were now practically family, Hugo and Lily insisted on telling them about Leo. James agreed and the two were let in on the secret.

Christmas was just around the corner and James was sitting with Fred, Roxanne, Alex and Alison at the Gryffindor table when the owls came in with their morning post. His parent's owl landed in front of James and stretched out her leg for him so he could take off the letter. He gave her a piece of his bacon and started to read.

_Dear James,_

_I hope you are all doing well. Unfortunately I have another reason for writing._

_You little secret seems to have gotten out somehow and one of my colleagues is currently writing an article about it. It will probably be published in the Daily Prophet tomorrow. I can't prevent it but I thought I should warn you._

_Don't worry though, whoever spread the story didn't know about S. That part about your secret is still safe. Anne – my colleague – asked me for an interview, so don't be surprised if I'm quoted in the article._

_Keep your chin up_

_Love_

_Mum_

"Damn it," James cursed. "How did the Daily Prophet find out about this if even at Hogwarts barely anyone knows about it?"

"What did the Daily Prophet find out?" Roxanne asked.

"About Leo," James answered curtly.

"How do you know? I haven't seen any articles about it in the newspaper," Alison stated.

"And that would definitely be a front page story," Fred added.

"Mum wrote me. One of her colleagues at the Daily Prophet is writing an article. Tomorrow everyone will know I'm Leo's father," the raven haired Gryfffindor explained.

"But how? How could the Daily Prophet possibly find out?" Roxanne wondered.

"No idea, Roxy. I really don't know, we were so careful," James sighed.

"I think I know," Alex said sheepishly. "I might have mentioned it during Quidditch practice once or twice."

"But none of us would go to the Daily Prophet with that," Fred said in indignation.

"Are you really sure about that with Thomas and Finnegan?" Roxanne asked.

"You think it was one of them?" Alison inquired.

"Yes, everyone else is family," she replied with conviction.

"But why should one of them give the story to a newspaper? That's not really their style," Alex commented.

"Who knows?" James said and shrugged.

Their assumption seemed to be correct. By lunch there were new rumours at the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw table. The most popular rumour was about a secret affair between the head boy James and the head girl Alice Longbottom, who according to the rumour was only allowed to stay at school because her father was the Head of Gryffindor House and supposedly he insisted on them being married after their graduation.

James could only laugh about that. He evaded all questions concerning relationships but he couldn't deny that he was Leo's father. Scorpius was relieved no one suspected him of being Leo's other parent, worried that it would come out soon and a little jealous and angry because it would be even more difficult for him now to spend time with Leo while James didn't need to hide it any longer.

It was now James' task to take Leo to Victoire in the Hospital Wing and pick him up again. Some of the more nosy students started to follow the Gryffindor everywhere, hoping to find out who the other parent of the little boy was. Luckily Albus allowed his older brother to borrow the invisibility cloak so no one could follow him to their quarters. Together with the Marauder's Map he managed to get from one place to another without being seen.

Fortunately the article that appeared the next morning in the Daily Prophet was reasonably objective and mostly refrained from speculation. Ginny Potter was quoted a few times but her statements barely contained any new information. She just emphasized again and again that the whole family supported James wholeheartedly.

The other Potter- and Weasley-children didn't have an easy time of it either. They were continuously bothered with questions by their fellow students but all of them kept quiet and didn't tell more than everyone knew anyway. All of them were glad when the Christmas holidays started and they were able to escape the unwanted attention.

"Where are you going to spend the holidays?" Lucas asked Scorpius as they were sitting in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express together with Rose, James, Albus and Seline. Leo was in a baby sling James wore.

"My parents will pick me up at the train station and I'll stay with them at the manor until Christmas day. We are invited for Christmas dinner with the Weasleys and after that I'm going to stay with the Potters for the rest of the holidays," the blond Slytherin told him.

James and Albus nodded in agreement. They weren't happy they wouldn't get to see Leo for the next few days but they were glad Scorpius was welcome at his home again.

"Are your parents invited to the Weasleys, too?" Seline asked.

"Yes, but I don't think they will go. Too much bad blood," Scorpius said.

"By the way, you are invited as well," Rose told her boyfriend and his sister.

"Yes, Nana Molly wants to meet you, now that you are dating Rose and me. They would have invited Alex and Alison as well but that's not possible because they don't know about Scorpius yet," Albus explained.

"Is it really true that you always celebrate with your whole family?" Seline asked curiously.

"Yes, I really don't know how we are all going to fit into the Burrow this year. This year we are even more people than last year," Albus answered.

"Probably extension-charms again, like last year," Rose stated dryly.

For the rest of the journey James, Albus and Rose told the others amusing stories about past Christmases at the Burrow and pranks James, Fred, Roxanne and George had played on the others.

When they arrived at platform 9 ¾ they bid each other farewell and went looking for their families. The Malfoys were standing together with the Zabinis and Scopius, Lucas and Seline walked over to them together. James was still carrying Leo and went with Albus, Rose, Lily, Lucy, Hugo, Fred and Roxanne over to their parents who were all standing together. The young people were all hugged and kissed if they wanted or not and Leo who was awake by now was passed from arm to arm.

"He's grown so much," Ginny gushed.

"Too bad we can't take him home with us," Lily sighed.

"Yes, I will miss him but at least I will be able to get a whole night's sleep again," James said.

"His eyes are darker than before, aren't they?" Harry noticed as he was holding his grandson.

"Yes, but we are still not sure which eye colour he will eventually have," James answered.

When finally all the others had left the platform, Scorpius came over to take Leo.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Potter," he greeted them.

"Hello Scorpius, how are you? And please call us by our given names," Ginny answered his greeting and hugged him.

"Thanks, I'm fine, Ginny," Scorpius replied shyly.

"Will your parents come to our Christmas dinner?" Harry asked.

"No, but they thank you for the invitation," Scorpius answered politely.

Ginny reluctantly handed Leo over to the blond Slytherin.

"Take care of you little darling, we'll see you at Christmas," she said.

"Don't worry, see you soon," Scorpius said and returned with Leo to his parents.

He looked back and saw the Potters disapparating then he turned to his parents.

"How are we going to get to home?" he asked.

"We will take a portkey," his father answered.

"Leo is still too young to floo or apparate with us and in the Knight Bus we would draw too much attention," Astoria explained.

Meanwhile Draco had produced the portkey – an old plush toy – and all the Malfoys extended a finger to touch it. Draco looked at his watch.

"Only one minute to go," he informed them.

They stood there and waited until they could feel the telltale pull behind the navel and a few seconds later they landed in the entrance hall of Malfoy Manor. They had all managed to land on their feet and Leo was still safe in Scorpius' arms.

"Welcome home. Your father and I set up a nursery for Leo in the room next to yours. Come on, I'll show you," his mother told him excitedly.

Scorpius followed her to his room on the second floor. She opened the door to the left and let him step into the room with Leo, who had started to cry. The room was painted in blues and greens and contained some of his old furniture. There were his old crib, changing table and the rocking chair his mother had often sat in with him on her arms. On a shelf were some of his old children's books as well as some new ones and inside the crib lay a green plush dragon.

"I wanted to buy him a plush lion because of his name but your father refused. 'Too Gryffindor', he said," Astoria told him.

"Thank you, mum. The room is brilliant," Scorpius said overwhelmed.

Since Leo's screaming was steadily increasing, Scorpius quickly prepared a bottle for him and sat in the rocking chair to feed him. After he had burped him he changed his nappy and then dressed him in a new romper. When he was finished he went down into the dining room where his parents and grandparents were already waiting for him with dinner. Leo was put into a bassinet where he fell asleep only minutes later while Scorpius ate dinner with his family.

On Christmas Eve they were visited by Astoria's sister Daphne Zabini and her family so they could finally meet Leo.

"I still can't believe you have a grandson named Leo, Draco," Blaise Zabini laughed as soon as they had greeted them.

"Yes, yes, keep making fun of me," Draco grumbled. "But just you wait, one day the joke will be on you."

"You think?" Blaise asked, still laughing.

"Your children are currently dating Albus Potter and Rose Weasley, I think chances are pretty high," Draco said smugly.

"Well yes, but they aren't Gryffindors," Blaise replied just as smugly.

Draco groaned. "Where did I go wrong?"

Blaise patted his shoulder in mock compassion while they made their way into the dining room.

Dinner was a quiet affair only interrupted by Leo's crying when he woke up to demand his own dinner. Astoria, Narcissa and Seline all wanted to feed him and Scorpius gladly left Leo in their care for the evening.

While the women were fussing over Leo, Blaise and Draco sat down with their sons to talk with them about their plans for the future.

"Do you have already decided what you want to do after your graduation?" Draco began.

"I'd like to work as a curse breaker for Gringotts," Lucas answered immediately.

"No, not yet," Scorpius answered a little slower.

"I wanted to make both of you an offer but Lucas already seems to have other plans," Draco said. "I wanted to suggest for one of you to work with me after your graduation so I can train him to eventually take over my company."

Scorpius and Lucas looked at him in surprise.

"You would have entrusted me with your chain of apothecaries?" Lucas asked astonished.

"Of course. You are my godson and if Scorpius had had other plans you would have been my first choice," Draco replied.

"And if we both wanted to take you up on the offer?" Scorpius asked.

"Then I would have trained you both and you could have managed the company together," Draco answered calmly.

"Why not, since I haven't come up with anything better," Scorpius shrugged. Inwardly he was happy because his father had obviously accepted him completely back into the family.

"Very good, I'm glad you accept my proposal. Now to the second point I wanted to discuss with you is your relationship to that Potter-boy. What exactly are your intentions concerning him?" Draco inquired.

"Which Potter-boy do you mean? There are two," Scorpius answered cheekily. It annoyed him that his father still refused to call the Potters by their given names.

"The older one," his father replied grudgingly, still determined not to use their given names.

"At the moment we are friends but I'll admit I wouldn't mind to be more than just friends with him," Scorpius answered honestly. "We get along really well now."

"What are you going to do next year when he's finished school? Will he want to take Leo with him or will Leo stay with you at Hogwarts? Will you move in together after your graduation to raise Leo together or will you go your separate ways? Who will he live with then?" Draco fired questions at him.

"I don't know, I don't know," Scorpius said completely swamped. He couldn't imagine to ever be separated from Leo and to imagine James with anyone else hurt.

"Then you should discuss this with him so there won't be a rude awakening in a few months," Draco replied harshly.

"Don't meet trouble halfway," Blaise interjected to pacify them. "I'm sure they will find a solution that's acceptable for everyone."

Soon after that everyone went to bed. Scorpius, Seline and Lucas were all nervous because of the Christmas dinner with the Weasleys the next day. They would be expected at the Burrow right after breakfast. It was a fitful night for the three of them.


	23. Chapter 23

Summer Fling

**Chapter 23**

On Christmas morning the six Malfoys and four Zabinis met in the drawing room where a huge Christmas tree stood, decorated with silver and blue ornaments. Under the Christmas tree lay mountains of presents, waiting to be unwrapped.

Scorpius was the first to enter the drawing room with Leo because his son had woken him with his crying at six in the morning. He sat down on the couch and tried to lull him back to sleep with some Christmas carols. Two hours later the others arrived, some still half-asleep.

"Good morning my angel," his mother greeted him when she came into the room together with his father.

"Merry Christmas," he wished them with a smile.

"Merry Christmas, Scorpius," Draco answered.

"How is my little darling this morning?" Astoria asked and set down next to him on the couch.

"Leo's fine, he woke me two hours ago though. He just fell back asleep," Scorpius answered.

"Good morning," Lucas yawned who was dragged into the room by Seline.

He sat down on another couch and instantly went back to sleep. Seline obviously didn't like that and poked him with her finger to wake him up again.

"Hey! No going back to sleep! I want my presents before we go to the Burrow," she complained.

"Okay, okay, I'm awake," Lucas grumbled sleepily.

"Merry Christmas," Narcissa's happy voice rang through the room.

She was followed by her husband Lucius Malfoy who also wished them a merry Christmas. They sat down in two armchairs near the fireplace enjoying the warmth of the crackling fire. Everyone looked up in amusement when Blaise was led into the room by his wife, like his son still half-asleep.

"Finally, everyone is here. Can we have our presents now?" Seline asked excitedly.

Besides Leo, she was the youngest one in the room and couldn't wait to unwrap her presents. The adults gave their permission and she eagerly started to hand out the presents. Scorpius had to open Leo's presents for him since the three month old was too young to do it himself.

After all the presents had been opened and they had all expressed their gratitude, they went into the dining room to have breakfast together. The house elves had made an extra effort for the occasion and they had an opulent breakfast with everything you could wish for.

When they had finished breakfast, Scorpius, Lucas and Seline got ready for their departure. It was 10 a.m. by now and they were expected at the Burrow. They had to take a portkey because they had Leo with them. They stood nervously around the Christmas bauble and waited, it was set for 10.15 a.m. At exactly 10.15 a.m. they disappeared in a swirl and appeared a short while later in the kitchen of the Burrow.

The first thing they saw was a big, cosy, and slightly chaotic kitchen where Molly Weasley was busy with cooking. In a corner – to be out of Molly's way – stood James, Albus and Rose. When they noticed their arrival they stepped forward to greet Scorpius, Leo, Lucas and Seline. Molly even stopped her cooking for a moment.

James immediately went over to Scorpius to welcome him and his son who he had sorely missed although it had only been a few days – not that he would ever admit that. Albus and Lucas kissed their girlfriends to greet them while Molly was waiting to be introduced to the young Slytherins.

"Welcome to the Burrow," she said kindly. "I'm Molly Weasley, the rascals out there are all my children and grandchildren. Just call me Nana Molly."

"Hello Nana Molly," Scorpius greeted her who was already used to her genial disposition.

"Go on into the living room to the others, dears. We used extension charms on it so everyone fits in. James, Albus, Rose, would you please show them the way?" she asked them.

Lucas and Seline were nervous as they stepped into the living room since it was the first time they would be formally introduced to Rose's and Albus' family. The death glare Ron Weasley send him made Lucas gulp. Seline was faring a little better since Harry and Ginny were both smiling at her.

"Mum, Dad, this is my girlfriend Seline Zabini. Seline, these are my parents Ginny and Harry. You already know James and Lily," Albus proudly introduced his girlfriend.

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Potter," Seline said shyly.

"It's nice to meet you, too, Seline. Albus has been talking about you nonstop these past few days," Ginny answered.

"Mum!" Albus exclaimed embarrassed.

Seline giggled quietly and the ice was broken.

Things weren't going as smoothly with Rose and Lucas. Ron didn't stop glaring dangerously at Lucas although Hermione kept poking him into the side and whispered to him to give the boy a chance.

"Hey Dad, Mum. May I introduce my boyfriend Lucas Zabini? Lucas, these are my parents Ron and Hermione Weasley," she said nervously. The looks her father kept sending her boyfriend hadn't escaped her notice.

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley," Lucas said bravely.

"Please call me Hermione - it will get too confusing otherwise with so many Mrs. Weaselys present. It's nice to meet you, too," Rose's mother said.

Ron didn't say anything and earned himself another painful poke from his wife.

"Please excuse my husband. You are the first boyfriend Rose has introduced to us and he has a hard time accepting that his little Rosie is growing up," she explained.

Rose blushed fiercely at her mother's words but Lucas face stayed serious and he nodded understandingly. Quickly his girlfriend pulled him away from her parents before her father could change his mind and say something or her mother said something else embarrassing.

While Albus and Rose were introducing their two Slytherins, James and Scorpius had made their way over to Victoire, Teddy and Vénus with Leo in Scorpius' arms. Vénus had learned how to crawl by now and someone always had to keep an eye on her to keep her from harm. When she spotted Leo in Scorpius' arms she crawled towards him. She was fascinated with the younger boy and always wanted to play with him although he was still far too young for that.

"Hello Teddy, hello Victoire," James said before he bent down to his goddaughter.

"Hey Vénus, do you want to say hello to your cousin?" he asked and picked her up.

The little girl squealed in delight and stretched her little arms out towards Leo, her pink hair changing to strawberry blond. James stepped closer to Scorpius with Leo on his arms and kept an eye on Vénus in case she got too rough with her little cousin.

After a few seconds James set her back on the floor and she started to crawl around again to explore her environment. She crawled around between the legs of her aunts and uncles and Victoire had to watch out so no one accidentally stumbled over her. When Charlie tried to pick her up she started to cry because she didn't recognize him and Victoire had to hold her for a while until she calmed down again.

The atmosphere at the Burrow was lively as always and after a while James and Scorpius carried their little son into Ginny's old room because the hustle and bustle became too much for him. There they laid him down and cast a monitoring spell. Then they went back to the rest of the family.

To James' surprise he, Albus and Rose weren't the only ones who had decided to invite their boyfriend or girlfriend for Christmas dinner. Everyone was surprised when Louis brought his girlfriend Olivia Wood with him. Olivia looked equally surprised when she noticed the three Slytherins.

_Oh great, _James thought, _I hope she can keep her mouth shut._

He actually liked Olivia, they had played together on the Quidditch-team, but this was something completely different. Hopefully Louis remembered to tell her not to mention anything about Scorpius outside the family.

When finally the last family member – Molly who had had to work – arrived they started to hand out presents. Scorpius was surprised when he got a present from nearly everyone in the room, something he hadn't expected. James gave him a book about advanced transfiguration – a subject they were both interested in – and a pocket watch like Mrs. Weasley's clock with hands for Leo, Draco, Astoria and Scorpius himself.

"You can add more hands later on when you get married or if you have more kids," James explained self-consciously.

"Thank you, James. That's a wonderful present," Scorpius thanked him. He was a little disappointed that James hadn't added a hand for himself. Scorpius wanted the Gryffindor to be a part of his family, too.

He himself had given James a book about Quidditch strategies and a photo album with pictures of him, James and Leo. Scorpius wanted James to see the family they could be if he just wanted it.

After all the presents were handed out and unwrapped, Molly dished up her feast and everyone sat around the large, magically expanded table and ate as much as they could. Mrs. Weasley had excelled herself once again and most were too sluggish to move around much after the meal so they just continued to sit at the table or plopped down on the nearest free sofa. James and Scorpius groaned when they heard their son who had apparently woken up crying and demanding their attention.

"Stay, I'll go and take care of it," James told the blond Slytherin and went upstairs to check on Leo.

"Hey my little Lion are you hungry?" he asked his small son as he lifted him out of his crib.

Leo calmed down slightly when James picked him up but he was still crying softly. The Gryffindor quickly prepared a bottle and started to feed his son. The crying stopped immediately and Leo eagerly drank his milk. Fed and changed he finally took him downstairs where he was instantly surrounded by his female relatives who were all cooing at the little boy. It quickly became too much for James and he handed Leo over to his obviously delighted mother.

When night fell, Lucas and Seline took their leave and returned to Malfoy Manor via floo, while Scorpius went home with the Potters.

The former guest room was now a nursery and Scorpius had to choose if he wanted to sleep in a room with his son, Albus or James. He decided on Albus since he wasn't sure if James would want him in his room. Albus on the other hand was his best friend and housemate and used to sleeping in a room with him.

James was in fact a little disappointed when Scorpius chose to sleep in Albus' room. He would never admit it but he had hoped Scorpius would chose him over his little brother, he was actually a little jealous of him. But James had a plan he only needed to gather the courage to go through with it. On New Year's Eve he was going to confess his feelings to Scorpius.


	24. Chapter 24

Summer Fling

**Chapter 24**

Like the year before the Potters had been invited to the annual New Year's Eve party at Malfoy Manor. Molly had offered to look after Leo and they had left him with her at the Burrow before they had apparated there.

James was extremely nervous because of his plan but tried very hard not to show it. He hadn't told anyone about his plan in case he chickened out at the last moment.

The first and difficult part was to find Draco Malfoy and get his blessing. The second part was planned for midnight, when it was tradition for couples to kiss. He would kiss Scorpius, confess his love to him – something he had never done before – and then ask him to marry him. He just hoped Scorpius would say yes and not laugh at him in front of everyone.

After he had made polite conversation with Scorpius and the other guests for a while, he excused himself and went in search of Mr. Malfoy. Unfortunately he found not only Draco Malfoy but also Lucius Malfoy who was talking to his son. James gathered all of his Gryffindor courage and approached the two Malfoys.

"Mr. Malfoy, may I talk to you for a moment, please?" he asked. Fortunately his voice wasn't shaky as he had feared.

Both men turned around to look at him and sneered.

"Mr. Potter. How may I help you?" Draco Malfoy replied.

"It's about Scorpius, Sir. I'd like to have your blessing for asking him to marry me tonight," the Gryffindor said with as much confidence as he could muster.

"I was not aware my grandson was still consorting with the likes of you," Lucius sneered.

James ignored him and waited instead for Draco's answer. Draco wasn't sneering at him anymore but gave him a scrutinising look.

"May I ask the reason of this sudden change of heart?" he asked.

"It's not a sudden change of heart. I've considered this very carefully. Your son means a lot to me, believe it or not," James assured him.

"If this is what Scorpius wants, I won't stand in your way. My son's happiness is the most important thing to me but if I ever find out that you made him unhappy I will make you regret the day you were born, Mr. Potter," Draco threatened him.

"Thank you, Mr. Malfoy. It's really not my intention to make Scorpius unhappy," James reassured him again and then quickly disappeared into the crowd before Lucius Malfoy, who was glaring daggers at him, could say something else or hex him.

Relieved that this part of the plan was over, he went back to his group that consisted of Scorpius, Lucas, Seline, Albus, Lily, Teddy and Victoire. Every now and then the two other couples would disappear onto the dance floor but they always returned to the group eventually.

Mr. and Mrs. Potter were also seen on the dance floor every so often but most of the time they spent talking with Andromeda, Narcissa and Astoria. Occasionally people would approach them to involve Harry in a conversation.

Just before midnight everyone went outside into the gardens to watch the fireworks and drink to the New Year with champagne. James purposefully stood with Scorpius a little off to the side away from the other guests so they wouldn't notice when he proposed to Scorpius.

When the fireworks went off exactly at midnight, James pulled a surprised Scorpius into his arms and kissed him. Then he dropped down on one knee and produced another hand for the watch he gave Scorpius for Christmas and kept for this purpose. It was James' own.

"Scorpius, I admit at the beginning you were just another fling to me but then I noticed that you were different. Instead of getting bored of you I only grew more interested in you and that frightened me. I broke up with you because I was afraid to fall in love with you but it was far too late. I love you. Still. I can't imagine being with anyone else anymore. Marry me?" he rushed through the speech he had so carefully prepared and turned his hopeful and at the same time slightly fearful eyes on Scorpius.

For a long while Scorpius could only stare at the Gryffindor. He had dreamed of this moment but never thought it would actually come true. He remembered that James was waiting for an answer and desperately racked his mind for the right words.

"Yes, oh Merlin, yes James!" he eventually choked out and flung his arms around the Gryffindor laughing and crying at the same time.

James returned the laugh in relieve, stood up and kissed him again. Then he pulled Scorpius watch out of his pocket and added his hand to the others. Since they were standing a way away from the others and they were all preoccupied with watching the fireworks, no one had noticed the odd couple and they stayed undisturbed. They stopped kissing when the fireworks stopped and went back into the ballroom with the other guests.

Both were glowing with joy but kept enough distance between them not to raise suspicion among the other guests. Scorpius gulped as he saw his father approaching them and was pleasantly surprised when he took only one look at his beaming face, hugged him and said, "Congratulations. I'm glad you are happy."

Then Draco disappeared again as suddenly as he had appeared and Scorpius gave James a questioning look.

"I asked for his blessing earlier this evening. He wasn't happy but he told me if that's what you want he won't stand in our way," James explained.

"Wow, I never would have thought that my father would accept this so easily," Scorpius marvelled.

"Yes, me neither but I'm glad he does. So, who do we want to tell the good news first?" James grinned.

"I think we should start with my mother and your parents or do they already know as well?"

"No, your father and grandfather are the only ones that knew about my plan to propose to you this evening," James answered.

"Grandfather Lucius?!" Scorpius exclaimed.

"Yes, unfortunately he was talking with your father when I asked him for his blessing. Unnecessary to say he was not amused."

"Oh, well at least you survived," Scorpius remarked faintly.

Meanwhile they had reached Harry, Ginny, Astoria, Narcissa and Andromeda. The adults turned around in curiosity to face to two young men.

"Er...," James started, unsure how to tell them the news.

Scorpius didn't know what to say either and eventually just showed his mother the watch James had given him. After a moment understanding dawned on Astoira's face and she squealed.

"My little baby is getting married! Oh, I'm going to plan the most beautiful wedding ever," she exclaimed and hugged Scorpius and – to his surprise – James.

The others now understood what was going on as well and proceeded to congratulate them, too. They were all a little surprised at the suddenness of the events but were happy for the two young men nonetheless. Victoire, Teddy, Lily, Albus, Seline and Lucas had noticed the commotion and made their way over as well.

Since James and Scorpius were surrounded by their whole family, the other guests noticed something unusual was going on and tried to find out what was going on between the Potters and Malfoys.

"I think we should make an announcement before rumours start flying around," Draco noted who had just joined the group.

"Is that really necessary?" Scorpius asked nervously.

"Yes, I'm afraid we have drawn too much attention to keep your relationship secret any longer. And this way I can finally claim Leo as my grandson officially," Draco stated.

"Okay," Scorpius reluctantly agreed.

Draco stepped into the middle of the room and cast a sonorous-spell on himself.

"May I have your attention, please," he called and it instantly became quiet in the room.

"We – the Malfoy family – would like to start this year with some good news. Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm proud to hereby announce the engagement of my son Scorpius to James Potter," he proclaimed.

"Thank you for your attention," he concluded his short, improvised speech and ended the spell to enhance the volume of his voice.

Immediately the noise in the ballroom rose as everyone started talking about the completely unexpected news. Many wanted to find out more details directly from the source but the Malfoys and Potters retired to a private room to plan their next move.

"What are we going to do now?" Scorpius asked scared.

"Now we are planning your wedding," Astoria said as a matter of course.

"And I'm going to place an announcement in the Daily Prophet first thing tomorrow that the Malfoy family welcomes their youngest scion Leo Silas Malfoy-Potter into the family," Draco added.

"Yes, we can't let the public believe we are ashamed of him," Lucius agreed.

"Have you already set a date for the wedding?" Ginny asked eagerly. She was as excited about planning a wedding as Astoria.

"Er,...Summer at the earliest, I think, when Scorpius is of age," James said uncertainly and looked at his fiancé.

"Yes, a summer wedding sounds good," Scorpius agreed.

"Alright, July or August?" Narcissa chipped in.

James and Scorpius exchanged a look. "August," they said together. It was the month their fling had started.

"Not on the 16th though, that's Al's birthday," James added.

"The 22nd," Scorpius suddenly said.

"Why on the 22nd?" Lily asked curiously.

"It's the anniversary of our first kiss," Scorpius answered and blushed.

James grinned and pecked him on the cheek.

"It's perfect," he said.

"Good, now that that's out of the way, we should return to the ballroom. We are the hosts after all," Draco stated dryly.

"Do we have to?" Scorpius complained. He really didn't want to be stared at by the people outside.

"How about you, James, Albus and Lily go home now and let us adults deal with this," Harry suggested who could understand Scorpius all too well – he wasn't keen on dealing with the sensationalist mob of people either.

"That's a great idea, thanks Dad," James grinned.

The young people said their goodbyes and Scorpius led them to a fireplace from where they could floo to Potter Cottage.

On the second of January the papers and magazines of the wizarding world were filled with articles about the Potter and Malfoy families. The announcement Draco had talked about appeared in the Daily Prophet and caused wild speculations. Both families received countless letters with well wishes and howlers screaming absurd accusations at them. Constantly someone flooed in or knocked on their door to ask if the papers were telling the truth for once. Nearly all the Weasleys had dropped by to congratulate James on his engagement or to ask him if he had finally lost it. Scorpius already dreaded their return to Hogwarts.

To everyone's relief the excitement died down after a few weeks and James and Scorpius were able to enjoy their last few months together at Hogwarts. Unfortunately the whole nightmare started up again as the wedding drew nearer.

The wedding took place as planned on the 22nd August at Malfoy Manor. Only family and close friends of James and Scorpius were invited. Still there were a lot of people who didn't necessarily see eye to eye. Astoria had put a lot of effort into the seating arrangement to prevent fights between the guests.

James and Scorpius sat in the middle of the head table. On Scorpius' left sat his best man Lucas, Leo, Astoria, Draco, Narcissa, Lucius and his godparents Daphne and Blaise Zabini. To James' right sat Albus as his best man, Ginny, Harry, Lily, Arthur, Molly and his godparents Ron and Hermione.

On the first guest table sat the older Weasleys with their spouses, Bill and Fleur, Percy and Audrey, George and Angelina, Charlie, Molly, Dominique, Victoire and Teddy with Vénus and Andromeda Tonks.

The next table was for the younger generation, Louis with his girlfriend Olivia Wood, Fred and Alison Jordan, Roxanne with Alexander Wood, Rose, Seline, Lorcan Scamander, Lucy and Hugo with Lysander Scamander.

The last table was reserved for family friends like, Luna and Rolf Scamander, Neville, Hannah, Frank and Alice Longbottom, Professor McGonagall, Hagrid, Oliver and Katie Wood and Alicia, Lee and Jarrod Jordan.

For the occasion all the guests were on their best behaviour and tried to get along and fortunately no fights broke out. The ceremony went by without a hitch although some reporters had been allowed onto the ground and at the end some of the women had tears in their eyes.

The now one and a half year old Vénus had served as their flower girl and the nearly one year old Leo had acted as their ring bearer – with a little help from Teddy. Lily and Seline had acted as their bridesmaids although there wasn't really a bride.

When the wedding reception finally came to an end James and Scorpius were given a portkey by Draco and Astoria that would bring them to their honeymoon destination – a summer residence in France – where they would stay until Scorpius had to return to Hogwarts for his seventh year. They happily waved goodbye to their family as the portkey whisked them away.


	25. Epilogue

Summer Fling

**Epilogue**

James and Scorpius had been married for fifteen years now and were standing with their two children on platform 9 ¾ to see them off. Three years after their wedding they had decided to have a second child and Carina Ginevra Malfoy-Potter was going to Hogwarts for the first time this year.

"What do you think which House I will be in?" Carina asked her older brother, who was about to start his fifth year already.

"You, Cara, are a Slytherin through and through," Leo said and ruffled with his hand through her long, raven black hair.

Carina glared at him angrily and his brown eyes shone with amusement.

"As long as I'm not in Gryffindor with you," she replied snottily.

James and Scorpius who had heard her laughed and hugged her.

"We will miss you, Cara," Scorpius said.

"You too of course, Leo," James added.

"Oh, look there are Teddy and Victoire with Vénus, Dora, Cassiopeia and Remus," Scorpius noted.

Vénus was now sixteen and was about to start her sixth year at Hogwarts. Dora was fourteen, Cassiopeia was thirteen and Remus would be in first year together with Carina.

They exchanged greetings and the children were warned one last time to behave, before they boarded the train. Carina and Remus leaned out of the window to wave their parents good bye. Then the train slowly left the station and James and Scorpius lost sight of Carina.

"You will keep an eye on them during the school year, won't you?" James asked Teddy and Victoire who were still working at Hogwarts as DADA teacher and school nurse.

"Of course, we've been looking after Leo these past few years, haven't we?" Teddy replied.

"Yes, you have and that's not an easy feat. Merlin, that boy attracts trouble wherever he goes," Scorpius said and shook his head in despair. "I blame the Potter-genes."

"Well, at least Carina seems to take after you," James said the next morning as he read Carina's letter that had arrived with the morning post.

"So she was sorted into Slytherin?" Scorpius grinned triumphantly.

"Yes, and Remus is in Gryffindor. Now Teddy and Victoire have one child in each House," James laughed.

"You don't seem to mind that your daughter is a Slytherin," Scorpius remarked.

"Oh you know some Slytherins aren't that bad if you get to know them," James said, wrapped his arms around his husband and kissed him. _No, some Slytherins aren't so bad after all._

* * *

**A/N: It's finished! I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it.**


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